Missing, Presumed Dead
by Writer With Sprite
Summary: Don is abducted and David is shot after their attempt to rescue Colby Granger, who the entire team thought was dead. Now, it's revealed that Colby really is alive - and the team must race to find him and Don in time. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my latest addition in my stories! There will most definitely be Don and Colby whump in this story. Slightly AU. Does not relate at all to my story 'Tight Lies That Bind.' That story will be updated later this weekend.

Disclaimer: I do not own numb3rs. This is valid for the entire length of the story (unless I somehow get lucky).

Note: Spoilers for Ultimatum. Set during season six.

-Break-

David Sinclair watched with remorseful eyes as Colby Granger's casket was lowered into the ground. The 21-gun salute then began. The funeral was a special one – not only was Colby Granger an FBI agent, but he was also an ex-military agent, having spent two years in Afghanistan. He'd nearly given his life several times for his country, and it looked like fate finally had found its way in for Colby Granger.

David glanced over to where Colby's family was supposed to sit. Instead of Colby's parents, there sat Don Eppes, Charlie Eppes, and the patriarch of the family, Alan Eppes. When Colby had signed up for the FBI and had started to get to know them, he had Alan listed as his next-of-kin. David had sneaked a peak at his file after his death and had been surprised. Colby had told him he was adopted and had no luck finding his birth family, but what he did not tell him was that his mother had disowned him when he'd signed up for the military and his father had committed suicide when he was fifteen.

When Don had gone to deliver the news personally to his mother, she'd slammed the door in Don's face, telling him that Colby had gotten what he had deserved. It was then that David decided that someone should sit in the place of honor, and that Colby should have some family members representing him, even if it wasn't by blood.

Megan stood next to David. Although David and Don attempted to keep their emotions "professional" and "under control", Megan cried silently and openly, remorseful about her team mate's death. Megan blamed herself for leaving the FBI and had told David that she thought it could somehow have gone differently if she had been there.

_All your training in the world doesn't prepare you for when one of the FBI's top fugitive hunters takes you hostage, _David thought as he looked at the lowered casket and accepted Megan's tender hug. He thought bitterly back to the scenario when Ian had wrapped his hand around Colby's neck, and they had all stood facing Ian Edgerton with their guns raised. If only he'd taken the shot! But – he hadn't had the right angle; and neither had Don, both were worried about shooting Colby. Ian was fast and he heard gunshots before they were even fired, so it was more than likely that Colby would have been the one facing the trigger.

David actually knew very little of what had happened in that room, but knew that as soon as Charlie was able to talk to Colby on the monitor, he already had a black eye and his arm looked broken, despite being chained to a pole. Ian had shut off most forms of communication. Ian's first demand had seemed impossible, but his second one fell on Charlie. David cursed the man for bringing Don's younger brother into the situation. Charlie was blaming himself for not being fast enough, but both David and Don tried to reassure him that it was not his fault. They both had the sinking gut feeling that Ian had planned on taking Colby's life, regardless of the outcome.

The funeral was suddenly over, and people swarmed up to Don and Alan. A lot of the people present were people that Colby had helped, or his friends from his time in military, people who had never met his family. David was sure that Alan would get a few questions. He exhaled slowly, his focus now on Megan.

"I wish I could have been there," she said remorsefully.

David shook his head. "You came as soon as you could. Trust me, Megan, you didn't want to be there." He shuddered as he thought about rushing in to breech. Colby's body was lying dead on the floor and Ian was already gone. Colby looked like he'd been through hell and back. Thompson had checked his pulse and declared him dead, and all hell had broken lose. David remembered being whisked from the room by the marshalls but not before he had seen more than he ever wanted too.

David blamed himself. He blamed himself for not ending Ian Edgerton's life when he took the chance. He blamed himself for not telling Colby how much Colby meant to him before they had gone into the battle territory that day. He had failed to tell Colby about what their friendship meant. And now, because he had failed to do all this, it was forever nothing; they were words that would never leave his lips, because Colby Granger was dead.

-one month later-

Don greeted David with a cheerful smile in the FBI bullpen. It was clear that his boss had been pulling an all-nighter; Don was never that cheerful unless he had had several cups of coffee, which he probably had if the several empty cups of coffee in Don's trashcan were anything to judge by, along with the two that were resting on Don's desk. Don's coffee habits had often made David serious thought about taking up stock in the coffee industry. Don had sent him home at seven o'clock the previous evening, saying that David should go get some rest. Clearly, Don needed to take his own advice. David was about to greet Don when Don's phone rang.

_[Hey Don, it's me, Colby_]. Colby's voice came over the phone in a weary sigh. Don dropped his coffee cup and the coffee splattered over the floor. The phone was instantly plugged into the desk tracer.

"Colby, what happened?" Don said, his voice over the phone. It came out strangled and tired. "We thought you were dead!"

_[I know. Ian wanted you to think that… He drugged me, he gave me something that made my heart rate slow down. Why do you think Thompson got David away so fast? He's in on it, Don – I bet you half the marshals in that office are dirty.]_

"Where are you?"

_[I don't actually know. We're somewhere in EAST LA. Ian's been holding me captive ever sense you guys thought I was dead. Nice funeral, by the way. Ian let me see footage of it. Tell your Dad thanks for sitting where my mom should have been.]_

"Yeah, Colby, I'm sorry," Don began but was cut off by the younger agent.

_[Don, I'm being serious. It's what I wanted – that's why I had him listed of next of kin. Listen, that isn't important. What is important is that Ian is planning something big. I don't know what. This is the first time he's left me alone untied for the entire month; I think I finally got him to trust me a little bit. We're in some sleazy, run-down hotel but I bet you we'll be moved after you get this phone call… he doesn't trust me, Don, I swear the guy beats me up at least once a day. He's part of a member of the Bloods, that group we were trying to track down.]_

"Xavier's group that is still outside of prison," Don summarized.

_[You guessed it. Anyway, that's why Ian took me hostage – he wanted some reason for you guys to stop looking at the Bloods. He chose me because he thought I could 'relate' to him the best; whatever. Anyway, please, Don, find me. I'm tired of breathing carpet dust every night. Believe me, I would have called sooner, but this is the first chance Ian's left me alone. He's getting slop…"]_

Colby's voice was roughly cut off as Ian's voice entered the phone. "Perhaps this was all apart of my plan, Granger," he responded. "Don, your agent wants you to find him, I suggest you do so. Otherwise, he's liable to get his arm more broken then it is already, if not get himself killed. Good luck."

David looked at his boss as he hung up the phone. "Did we get a trace?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't being too hopeful.

"Yeah," Don said, printing out the map. "Let's go. Grab your gear. Megan, Nikki, meet us at Hollow's Cave Hotel ASAP – Colby might be there!"

"Colby?" Megan asked, her eyes lighting up with hope. Nikki glanced at her, confused, but shrugged and followed her anyway.

David pulled himself up into the driver's seat of the car and glanced at Don. "What are your thoughts?"

"Ian wouldn't have left Colby alone, unattended, in the room with a phone unless he was sure he was either unconscious, dead, or otherwise tied up. The fact that he did suggests that maybe he wants Colby to call, but that's stupid – he wouldn't want us back on the case."

"Maybe Colby tricked him somehow?" David suggested.

Don shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, this is Ian Edgerton we're talking about. He's not stupid." Don shook his head. "I should have ended this back at the prison."

"You'd have blown Colby's head off," David reminded him.

"That doesn't make me feel better," Don said. "I mean, we think he's dead – the guy witnesses his own god-damn funeral; for heaven's sake, and now he's been held captive for a whole month. I'm sure he's ready to go home."

David nodded. "Yeah, and what did he say? 'He beats me up like every night.'"

Don's face was grim in response. "I know," he said. "Of course, it's Colby admitting that, so it's probably more 'Ian tortures me every night.'"

David nodded in agreement, and the two pulled around the parking pass. Don all but flew from the car and pointed. "Look," he said.

Colby was there. His head was bent low and his hands were cuffed behind his back. It was clear that the months' time of captive had taken its toll on the agent. Don moved closer. Colby's left arm was covered in what looked to be cigarette burns and his right arm was now facing a long knife mark. Don was speed-dialing LAPD for backup.

"I told you, he's an idiot, he's going to get us caught!" The second man was pacing and waving his hands. He shoved at Colby, and David started to move forward as the younger agent fell to the ground, but Don held him back. "We wait," he hissed. "Back-up is eleven minutes away."

"Colby might not have that long," David pointed out.

Don exhaled slowly, knowing David was right. He raised his gun slightly towards Ian and moved forward. His vest was already strapped on.

"Whatever. Just get him in the car. We've already waited too long," Edgerton responded. He put out his cigarette on Colby's arm, and it took all of David's willpower not to shoot him right then and there.

"Let him go, Edgerton!" Don's voice rang through loud and clear as he raised his rifle.

"I told you we waited too long," Edgerton said, glancing at his partner.

It was Colby who spoke next. "Don, behind you!" he said frantically. Don was roughly pushed forward by a third man, this one who had a mask on. The man was clearly advanced in karate, or something – he was able to disarm Don in mere seconds. David fired at Edgerton, and Edgerton fired back. David toppled to the ground.

Colby had gotten up and had jumped Edgerton, determined to take part in the action, but being held captive for a month had taken its toll on Colby's body. Colby was dragged roughly into the car. The second gunman turned towards the third unmasked one. "Grab him. Leave the other one, he's dead," he said.

Don picked himself up and swung his body into the third man, hard, but the man was prepared for that, dodging Don. Don fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The man picked Don up and started dragging him towards the van.

"Don!" Megan yelled, disarming herself from the vehicle. "FBI! Release him at once!" There was sudden gunfire, and Megan forced herself behind the barrier. By the time she peered back, Don was gone, presumably in the truck, along with the other men. Nikki raced forward and checked David's pulse.

"How is he?" Megan asked, dialing LAPD, not knowing that Don had already called the squad cars for backup. The first squad car arrived on the scene, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's alive, but barely," Nikki said. "Did you bring the EMTS with you?" she asked the LAPD officer. The man nodded and pointed towards the arriving ambulance. Nikki checked David's breathing, relieved when she found it steady.

"What the hell happened?" Megan questioned.

David winced at that, finally seeming to recognize what was going. "We couldn't wait – backup was eleven minutes away. Don moved forward, we spooked Edgerton; I shot at him, he shot me, he grabbed Don and took off."

"Did you see Colby?" Megan asked, breath hitching.

David nodded weakly. "Yeah, he's alive."


	2. Chapter 2

Don winced as he was roughly thrown to the ground of the U-Hall. He had seen some of what Ian Edgerton had done to make prisoners talk and knew, somehow, that those techniques had been used on Colby and were about to be used on him. His vest was roughly pulled off and carelessly tossed aside. Ian was pinning his arms down so he didn't even have a chance to attempt to move, even though he was struggling against the arms.

"Give me the stick," Ian growled at his partner. The partner hastily did as he was told. Don winced as the hot fire brand pressed against his arm and bit out a low moan. Ian just chuckled as the U-Hall pulled to a stop. Ian pulled out Don's heavy-duty cuffs, cuffs used for multiple-time offenders, and put them around his wrists. "That'll get you to listen," he said. He and the other man left the room, and Colby and Don were left alone.

Colby coughed, and Don turned to look at the younger agent, assessing the man's injuries. It was clear that Colby's right arm had been broken, and probably had been broken twice from the looks of it. "This isn't exactly what I meant by an extraction," Colby quipped as he glanced at his boss' arm where he'd been branded.

It was the first time Don had since their capture to assess Colby's injuries. It looked like Colby had taken several serious beatings just from the condition of his skin. He'd lost a lot of weight, and Don guessed he'd lot more than twenty pounds; weight he didn't really have to loose. He wondered what had happened to Colby in the month he'd been missing.

"You'll be fine," Colby said. Don glanced up, startled, realizing that Colby had been assessing _his _injuries. "Edgerton went easy on you. Me, he wanted to get infected, so he pushed it into my skin when he did it. I was sick for two days afterwards. Edgerton would knife me every time I threw up," he said.

"'Knife you'?" Don questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, stab me, you know, with his knife." Colby lifted the arm of his shirt to reveal the marks. For some reason, Ian hadn't handcuffed Colby's hands. "He hid the marks for the first couple days, not wanting people to believe that I was his captive, but at the end he just attacked me recklessly, not really caring about who he was hurting."

Don shook his head. "I'm sorry I didn't take the shot like you told me too," he grumbled. He propped himself up. "I'm hoping that Megan and Nikki – or David – got a shot at the car."

"Is David okay? I saw him go down –"

"I don't know, but the shot didn't hit him in a vital part of his body," Don responded, "So I think he'll be okay." He hoped, anyway. He didn't want to lose another agent; to go through another funeral… "What have you guys been doing the past, well, month?"

"When Edgerton grabbed me, he spent the first day making sure I wouldn't talk to any strangers," Colby explained. "He bought in an LAPD cop, a FBI agent that works in our office, and a grocery store clerk and another man and said, 'All these people are working for me.'" Colby took a moment to pause before adding, "Each one of them got a chance to get a good punch at me, too. The FBI agent actually beat me up."

"What FBI agent?"

"I didn't get his name – Edgerton wasn't that stupid. I know he was pretty high up, though… Assistant something. The second day he broke my arm when I tried to escape. The third day, he branded me so that everyone would know that I was his prisoner. What did you guys do those first few days?"

Don shook his head. "I didn't do much; not really. We started to open cases that Ian Edgerton had worked, to see if they were dirty or if things had changed. He's now the fifth most wanted fugitive in the United States; with this recent activity, I'm sure it will help his ranking go up. Charlie was a mess the third day, and so was Megan – by the way, she rejoined the FBI – and we held your funeral that night, of course, as you know."

"Yeah. I assume my mom didn't take it too kindly when you told me about my 'death'," Colby quipped.

"She threw me out of her house and said you'd gotten what you deserved," Don admitted.

"That's actually less harsh then I expected from her, actually," Colby responded as he sat up against the wall of their moveable prison. He pointed to Don's cuffs. "He doesn't trust you yet – he'll probably spend some time 'training' you tonight," he warned. Then he grimaced. "Me, probably, too, since I called. I wasn't about to pass up a chance with a phone, though."

"Training?" Don questioned.

"Yeah, it's what he did with me the fourth day. We were up in the mountains at that point in time, actually. He made a huge point of burning all my FBI stuff and telling me that I had a new life now as his prisoner. He broke my arm – again, the same one, and then he tied me up and let me sleep outside his tent. He told me I was lucky that I was getting clothes, and that as an added bonus, I got a sleeping bag and a sweater. I was pretty sure he was trying to get the Stockholm syndrome thing going." Colby winced at the memory. "It's probably were we're headed, the mountains again, so that Edgerton can 'retrain' me and you."

"Why do you think he took you?"

"You mean, why do I think he didn't just kill me and leave me for dead, or just leave me there?" Colby asked. He paused. "You know, I don't really know. That's a question that I'd love to ask Megan. But I think – I think he wanted a hostage, someone who he could attack and beat up and keep prisoner."

"Why do you think he took me?"

"To punish me," Colby admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

Don shrugged. "With two of us, we might have a better chance of beating him."

Colby raised his eyebrow at Don. "Don, this is Ian Edgerton. We could be a team of SWAT officers and have trouble taking him down." He shook his head. "I mean – yes, we'd have an advantage, but…" He slumped against the wall of the moving U-HAll. "I'm sorry. I tried so many times, but he'd always capture me and punish me. The last time he punished me, he broke my arm, again." Colby glanced at his arm. Don winced. He wasn't sure they'd ever be able to fully correct Colby's left arm.

Don shook his head after it registered with him that Colby thought that his was _his_ fault. "Don't be sorry, Colby. You did what you had to do to keep yourself alive."

"Alive and captive," Colby muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, but better to be alive and captive with hope of escape then six feet under," Don responded. Both grew quiet as the U-Hall stopped on the gravel road. Don tensed as he glanced at Colby, knowing somehow that the action was about to begin.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Originally, these were supposed to be two 1,000 word chapters, but I decided that I didn't want to torture my reviewers too much. I hope that you all enjoy the work, and find the Don and Colby torture entertaining. Hopefully, if all goes well, "Tight Lies That Bind" will be updated later today. I wanted to update this previously, but had not had the flash drive on me. My apologies, and please read, review, and enjoy. I love every single review that I get.

## BREAK ##

Colby winced as he was thrown roughly outside of the truck. Don soon was as well. He winced as his face hit the gravel pavement, and he hoped he didn't have too many gravel pieces embedded in his face. "Thanks, but I've got them," Edgerton said to his partner who Don couldn't see. "I'll be back to join the party in about a day or two," he added, "that'll give me enough time to get them to listen."

The second man nodded and handed Edgerton a backpack. "See you later," the man said with a friendly wave.

Edgerton turned to Colby wordlessly and Don got a chance to see just how much Colby had been hurt in those early months. "Ian, I'm -," Colby started to say. He glanced downwards, realizing what he'd done, and winced.

"Stop!" Ian Edgerton slapped Colby, and Colby stumbled backwards, and fell. "You can talk when we set up camp. You, start moving. You know where we usually park. Go!" He handed Colby the pack. Colby cast a glance back at Don, who nodded.

"If you think this is some kind of joke, you should see how much Colby listens to me now," he said as he aimed the rifle directly at Don. "Let's go. You move, you breathe wrong, I shoot him. I only need one captive. Are you clear?"

"Clear," Don muttered. When he took the first step forward, Ian shoved him and sent him sprawling to the ground. He hit his head on a rock and glanced up at Ian, dazed.

"I didn't give you permission to move, yet," Ian said. He kicked roughly at Don. "Let me tell you something, Eppes. You don't move, you don't breathe, you don't sleep, you don't eat unless I tell you too. I _thought_ Colby had learned that lesson, but it's clear that from his little phone call this morning that he was only playing me. Get. Up!" Ian said. He roughly grabbed Don's arms and pulled him up.

The campsite that they were at was only a short feet away, perhaps two dozen yards into the mountains, but it was covered by trees. Colby already had set up the camp by the time they had arrived. "Colby, get me the chain," Ian said, keeping his gun resting firmly on Don. Don winced and suspected that something bad was about to happen. Colby glanced at Don, hesitating a minute, before he looked at the ground and handed Ian the chain.

"Take off your shoes," Ian ordered Don. When Don did so, Ian quickly wrapped the chain around Don's wrist, leaving Don effectively tied to the tree. Don winced at the tightness of the chain, but didn't complain. The last thing he wanted to do was bring more pain to Colby.

"Good," Ian praised. The way he said the word made Don sick to his stomach. What had Colby lived through the past month? _Dammit, why didn't they realize that he was alive? _"Now we're going to have a little fun."

## Break ##

Megan stretched as she sat up. "I can't believe that he was alive the whole time, and that we never saw it."

Nikki felt awful, like someone had clenched her insides. They were waiting at the hospital right now. There was little they could do. Charlie was on his way, getting ready to help them track sightings of Ian. Megan looked exhausted. None of them had gotten much sleep the past month.

It seemed like every time that Nikki had gotten a full night's sleep, she'd been woken up at 2:00 that morning by a loud, shrilling phone call demanding she get to whatever crisis Los Angels had that time. She closed her eyes, wondering how she could think about sleep when Colby Granger was missing and alive and Don had been kidnapped.

She blinked awake an hour later, glancing at her watch in shock. She sprung from her seat as she watched Megan, Charlie and Amita pouring over their paperwork. She winced. At least an hour had passed; why hadn't Megan awoken her? Perhaps she really had needed the sleep. She stretched again and made her way over to the trio. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't worry," Megan responded. "Billy Cooper is on his way to help. I'd really like his insight on this. He's from Don's fugitive recovery days. He should be able to help. I've also got Gary Walker, the lutinent from LAPD, on his way."

Nikki nodded. She didn't know who any of those were, but she guessed they were helpful people. She glanced at Charlie. "Does Alan know?" she asked quietly.

Charlie's head shot up from the papers he was looking at. Charlie, too, looked like he needed another six months' sleep. The first twenty-four hours were ticking by, though, time that was vital in any kidnapping case – especially this one. She swallowed hard. "Yeah, he knows. He's in Idaho for the time being, helping Aunt Ida. He's flying back tonight."

Megan glanced at Nikki. "Do you want to pick him up from the airport, or should I?"

"You're more used to the mathspeak then I am," Nikki responded quietly. "I'll pick him up."

## - ##

"You're hurting him!" Colby pleaded as he strained against the tree that was holding him back. Ian had just finished his 'training' of Don that night, which had consisted of badly beating him with a leather belt... amongst other various tortures.

Don, much like Colby, had been told that he wasn't allowed to speak, and that if he attempted too, he would be punished. Colby knew that he would get the same punishment next. It was apart of how Ian had stripped him from his dignity. Colby had told Ian that he'd take Don's punishment, and both of them had ended up with severe bruising because Colby had spoken.

"Shut up, Granger," Ian responded. He shoved Colby back down to the dirt of the forest and kicked him. "You don't get to speak, or did you forget that part?" he sneered, putting out yet another one of his cigarettes on Colby's arm. Colby blinked back tears. He'd taken dozens of these without even thinking about crying, but they hurt, a lot. The cigarette burns also added humiliation, knowing his boss was watching.

The chain that held Colby to the trunk of the tree caused him to stop just inches from Don as he flew further on the ground. Colby coughed as he breathed the dust that rose up into his nostrils, and he gasped, trying to breathe clean air.

"Leave him alone!" Don said as he stood up and pulled against his chain. Because Colby's arm was broken, Ian rarely worried about chaining his arms. He had not, however, granted Don the same privilege. Don's right arm and leg were chained to the tree, much like Ian had done to him the first night.

"If you speak again, I'll kill him right now," Ian said. He jerked Colby up, keeping his knife on the Adam's apple right next to his throat. "What's your choice, agent?" he sneered, a sick smile on his face.

Don swallowed hard, knowing that Ian would have no problem keeping his word. He bowed his head, hoping to look submissive. He knew that Ian would not listen to any hostage situation advice. Hell, he'd trained in that in Quantico, and had lived and breathed it for years. Don knew his only hope, Colby's only hope, was to act obedient.

Ian smirked, as if he sensed that he had gained control over Don. "Good boy," he responded. He shoved Colby back to the ground again, and Don winced when he heard Colby's coughing. _That definitely didn't sound good. As soon as they were out of there, Colby was going to the doctor._

Colby stayed where he was, and Don could tell that although Colby wasn't broken, he wasn't attempting to be stupid, either. Anyone living with a month of being tortured would have been much more broken, much more distressed, then Colby Granger. He silently thanked God for Colby's military background. He winced, knowing that it might or might not help them now.

"You two can talk once I am out of earshot," Ian responded with a smirk. He knelt down, holding his knife inches away from Don's throat. "But remember who holds the power over whether or not you live or die."

Don shivered in the cold. The hooded sweatshirt he had grabbed on his way out was barely enough protection against the nightly desert chill. Colby had no protection against the slightly chilly weather, not even a sleeping bag or shoes, and Don silently thanked God that it was July.

As soon as Ian had zipped up his sleeping bag, Colby exhaled slowly and sat up. "I'm sorry," he whispered, bowing his head.

"You have _nothing_ to be ashamed of, Colby," Don responded. He attempted to move within Colby's reach, and managed to move closer. "Listen, Colby, no-one could have handled a whole month of torture better then you, alright?"

Colby swallowed hard and looked to the ground, distressed. "I already know I'm not worth much to the team because of my dyslexia," he said in a soft whisper. "I mean… I know that's not true, but that's what Ian keeps telling me."

Don's temper flared. Colby had a very minor dyslexia problem and had trouble reading a few letters and a few words backwards every now and then. Sure, there had been odd reports that had come across his desk that he knew were from Colby without even glancing at them. Hs personal favorite had been "the suspect called me a curd" for when Colby had meant to put cow, but it was a minor inconvenience, and Don couldn't imagine another agent taking Colby's place over such a simple problem.

"Colby," he responded, "You are one of the most valuable members of our team. You put yourself through hell for the benefit of your country. I refuse to treat you any differently because you can't read a few words right."

Colby's small grin that he flashed at Don made Don feel hopeful that they would survive the situation just yet.

## - ## Break ## - ##

"Family of David Sinclair?" the nurse asked, glancing at her notes. She was wearing a stereotypical pink nurse outfit and was a skinny, petite blond who looked like she would much rather be somewhere else. The look on her face did not make Megan feel hopeful.

Megan stood up and offered her hand. She hoped that David's mother could, indeed, catch the first flight out from where he lived in Washington, DC. "His mother is on her way," she responded quietly. David did not know who his real father was. Megan found the whole family complex on the team interesting. Was it better to know who your father was, like Colby, and have an abusive father, or to not know who your father was for years? Or to be in her situation, and not even speak to her father?

"And you are…" the nurse flipped through her notes, attempting to find Megan's name on her gray and white clipboard. David's file was littered with notes and Megan wondered if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"I'm one of his team members. Megan Reeves, FBI." Megan was sure the smile she flashed at the nurse made her look more cordial than she really felt. Inside, her stomach was sick. A full-scale search was being launched for Colby and Don, and how she wished David was apart of it. Now she was the leader; she was the one leading the FBI office on the search. "Can you _please _tell me about his health?"

"He'll make it. The bullet didn't hit anything vital, but he should be off that foot for six weeks," the nurse responded. "He'll need to stay a night or two for observation. The doctor will be in to discuss more details later."

"Thank you," Megan responded, breathing a sigh of relief. "When can we see him?"

"In an hour. They're transporting him to his room now and they're in the process of waking him up." The nurse paused as she checked a note on her clipboard and offered Megan a small smile. "You'll be notified as soon as you can see him. He's a fighter," she added, as if she knew Megan needed the reassurance.

"Thank you," Megan responded. She walked back to the team. "David will be fine, but he'll need to be off his feet. Nikki, I want you here to guard David at all times," she responded. "We're going to be split really thin on this case."

Nikki nodded. Colby had only been missing for a month and Don hadn't accepted any replacements for him yet. The team was too busy trying to work through their emotions. Now, with David out of the game, they would be stretched even further. Nikki could only hope that they could find Don and Colby, _alive_, before she'd loose two friends and they would be missing two of their agents. Her stomach churned in knots, and she exhaled slowly as she watched a very tired and disgruntled Larry Flinehart and Alan Eppes walking down the hallway.

## - Break ##

_Please review! Reviews keep me updating! Chapter five is already finished, so as soon as I see some reviews I'll stick it up there. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has it on their favorites list, too! _


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Story count is at 1,743 words. Enjoy. Plenty of Don whump and torture. I'm actively working on the next update for the tight lies that bind and I'd like to predict that it will be up tomorrow, so keep closely tuned. I have the next chapter of this written so six reviews will grant an update. I love reading all the reviews!

Writer With Sprite

Break

"Mr. Eppes!" Megan flashed him a smile, and it was then when Charlie realized how exhausted Megan really looked. How hard had Don's team been working since Colby's disappearance, anyway? Why hadn't he noticed, and made his brother relax a little? He determined that he would make them relax a little bit when they'd found Don and Colby. He refused to think of Don and Colby being dead; there was simply no opinion in his mind that they would be found alive. "I was just about to send one of my agents to pick you up."

Charlie noticed the heated glance his father sent at him and glanced at Megan. "Do you have any news on Don yet?" he asked. His voice, too, sounded tired. Everyone had taken Colby's death hard.

_Shit_. Charlie just realized he'd forgotten to tell his father that Colby was alive. He glanced at Megan, knowing he was in on it now.

"No, Mr. Eppes. We've had no ransom demands, but we're working hard on the case." Charlie saw Megan swallow hard as she looked his father straight in the eyes. "Alan, we're going to find Don and Colby and bring them home."

"Colby?" Alan asked, and Larry's eyes grew wide as he dropped the cup of coffee in his hands.

Megan nodded and checked her watch. Charlie guessed she had to be getting back to the office soon. She was, after all, the lead agent on the case. "Don got an emergency call from him this morning. David saw Ian Edgerton dragging Don towards a white truck, we think it was a U-hall rental, and he saw Colby. David fired at Edgerton, who fired back. Edgerton's shot was successful. David's in surgery, but he'll be fine."

"What about David's parents? Do they know?" Alan asked.

"David's mother will be on her way," Megan responded. She paused and Charlie guessed that she was wondering whether or not she should tell him the second detail or not. "David never knew his father."

Alan sank down into one of the cushioned blue waiting room chairs. "Well, I'll be here when he wakes up then. Go look for my son, and I'll watch out for David."

## - ##

Don winced as he saw Colby flinch visibly as Ian's partner moved every-closer with the brown leather strap. He wondered who the new man was. It was looking more and more like Ian was guilty. After all, there were times Ian could have broken away the past month, and he hadn't.

The only nagging question Don had, that he didn't want to ask, was why on earth Colby had been left unattended and allowed to make that phone call. Perhaps Ian had thought he was unconscious, perhaps not.

"Time to get up," the man growled as he released Colby from his chain. It looked like they were about to be moved, Don realized. Colby winced as the man twisted his arm that was broken, but refused to cry out.

As soon as they were in a place and their hands were free, Don made a mental note that they had to splint Colby's arm with whatever material the two of them had, even if it was just his own shirt.

"Time to go, Eppes," the man said as he made his way towards Don. Don didn't attempt to fight, knowing that they were in the wilderness with nowhere to run. Colby was in no shape to run from two criminals right now, especially when one of his arms was virtually useless. At least Don had been awarded back his boots that morning.

Don's hands were roughly cuffed by Ian, who ironically looked like he needed more sleep. Ian shot a sneering glance at Colby.

"Time to move," he responded, grabbing Colby by his good arm and dragging him down the rocky mountain pathway. Colby tried to pull back, but Ian responded by shoving him down to the ground. Don was forced to follow by Ian's partner, who had their belongings on his back. He winced as the man prodded him with his pistol and forced him to go forward.

Although Don was still worried about Colby, he was glad that Colby seemed a little happier with him around. _That didn't mean that either of them needed to stick around these two psychopaths, though, _Don thought.

It was then that Don noticed that they hadn't even given Colby shoes to walk through the rocky forest with. His anger flared. As soon as they were alone, he resolved that Colby was getting his pair of shoes and his jacket.

Walking on the rough terrain felt like it took forever. Don wanted to whine and complain that it was taking too long, but the threat to Colby was all too real. They'd clearly threatened silting Colby's throat if the trip took too long or if Don spoke.

Colby hung his head as he walked. Don knew that he was beating himself up inside, but didn't really know how to help it. They were going to have a serious talk when this was over, that was for sure. He knew Colby was trying to be brave, but every time he was visibly brave in some way, shape, or form, Ian would punish him.

It was after a few hours of walking that they approached the wooden cabin. Don guessed this is where they were staying. He winced as he saw Colby lift one of his feet up and realized that it was bloody. He hoped against hope that they would let his hands free so he could give Colby the medical attention he desperately needed.

They were then lead to a small room. It looked like it had been pre-arranged. There were two green cots there, as well as a few freshly laid out outfits, presumably for Don and Colby to change into. Colby was roughly shoved onto one of the cots, and he sank down. Don easily noted how exhausted his agent looked. He was going to encourage – no, demand – that Colby get some sleep.

Ian shoved Don down to the ground and roughly let his hands free. "You try to escape and Colby will be dead and you'll be recaptured," Ian responded. He touched the still sore yellowish brand mark that Don had. "People know you are mine." With that, he closed the wooden door with a loud bang.

Don pushed himself up, making his way towards Colby. "First things first," he responded, putting a finger to his lips. Colby nodded as Don methodically searched the room. There were no visible bugs, so at least that was good. "Nothing," Don responded.

Colby nodded. "I'm not surprised. Ian generally doesn't care what I'm saying." He snorted. It was quickly followed by a wince as he attempted to move his arm.

"Let's get you some first aid," Don responded. He stepped into the adjourning bathroom. There was not much there, but there was some stuff Don could use to treat Colby's arm. Don raised his eyebrow at a blue sling that had Colby's name on it. He took that and the first aid kit out into the other room.

"Don," Colby said, and he had a whining voice tone. "If I wear that… I won't have…"

"If you wear it, there's probably less chance that they can handcuff you," Don responded. He set about uncurling Colby's fingers. Everything was covered in cigarette burns, he noted. "Since when did Ian take up smoking?"

"I don't know," Colby responded, but he visibly winced. "He uses me as an ashtray, whenever it suits his fancy. He even put some on my left foot."

"So that was his version of 'training,' huh?" Don asked as he set about methodically treating Colby's arm. He was glad there was a lot of antibiotic cream in the first aid kit; they were going to need almost all of it. Don was no doctor, and didn't want to mess much with Colby's arm, so he attempted to split it the best he knew how. Don took off his shirt, rinsed it, and made his way back into the room.

"That was his lightened version. I think he's going easier on you than he did on me; probably because he thinks I'm under control. As if," Colby snorted with a roll of his eyes. Don was glad to see that the agent hadn't given in to Ian's torture. He was sure that anyone else on the team, and probably even himself, would have broken.

"I think we should play up that angle," Don responded as he wrapped his shirt around Colby's arm. "If he thinks you're less likely to escape, he might give you a little more freedom and you might have a better chance of contacting the gang."

"Good idea," Colby responded. He winced at the thought of giving into any of Ian's harsh demands. "It won't be easy, though. Ian is a fighter, tough, and a pusher."

"And abusive," Don muttered under his breath as he set Colby's arm in the blue sling. "Listen, leave that on at all times, okay? We want some shot at recovering that arm." Even though Don was no doctor, he knew that the condition of Colby's arm was bad. He closed his eyes as he made his way towards the pile of clean clothes, silently counting the shirts. There were twenty-six of them. Don wondered how long they were going to be there as he slipped a brown t-shirt on.

"That bad, huh?" Colby asked. He winced as Don made his way back over. He frowned and Don saw his Adam's apple bob. "Uh, Don? My foot hurts…"

"You tell me about all your injuries, Colby," Don responded, knowing that Colby could easily downplay an injury. That was before he'd been held captive for a month and injured damn near daily. "I don't care if it's a broken pinky or 'just a scratch.' Are we clear?" he asked as he pulled off Colby's sock. _Because Colby's just a scratch could indicate a bullet wound. _He winced. Colby's foot was cut and was still bleeding, the bright red marks coming down in streaks on the once-white sock.


	5. Chapter 5

Don cleaned Colby's foot the best he could with a washcloth he'd managed to find in the small bathroom. The bathroom couldn't be any bigger than eight by ten feet, and consisted of a toilet and a sink. Regardless of how small it was, and the fact that it was devoid of a shower, Don was grateful for it. He'd scanned it, but hadn't seen an immediate visible way of escape. Right now, too, there were more pressing manners – taking care of Colby.

"That feels better, but the stuff you're rubbing on it stings," Colby said. He had an annoying grin and Don smiled. Although it was clear that Colby still looked exhausted, he was sounding more confident and more like the Colby Don knew before he'd been abducted and been forced to hold hostage a month by Ian Edgerton. There was just no way in hell, in Don's mind, that Ian was innocent. If nothing else, Don thought, Ian had no reason to keep putting his cigarettes out on Colby's arm. Ian had put one out on Don's thigh the previous night, and Don had almost let out a scream. It had hurt and stung, and Ian continuously did that to Colby on a regular basis.

"Yeah, well, the stinging stuff will keep your foot from getting infected," Don responded as he put the cream back in the first aid kit. He hoped that wouldn't get taken away. Colby was in pretty bad shape, and he didn't want him getting infected. That was the last thing they needed right now.

Don made his way back into the bathroom, this time taking some toilet paper from the roll. He returned and wrapped the wash cloth around Colby's foot, tying it with toilet paper. "That stays on. Clear?"

Colby nodded, and for the first time since he'd been captured, Don saw hope in Colby's eyes. "Thanks, boss."

Their eyes locked. Although Don knew that their time of torture was far from over, he also responded with a smile. "You're welcome, Colby. I just wish that that this had never happened to you."

## Break ##

Megan groaned as she stretched on the couch, her eyes open wide. "Billy? When did you get here? When did I fall asleep?" she asked, shooting her questions out in rapid format.

"I don't know when you fell asleep, but you looked like you needed it," Billy responded as he adjusted his hat. "I was working on connecting the dots between tracking Ian and Colby's latest reappearance."

"I can't believe we all thought he was dead," Megan responded as she adjusted her T-shirt. She hung her head. "David was in the hospital. He woke up to tell me that he saw Ian putting out a cigarette burn on Colby's arm."

"That marks with what I've been seeing," Billy responded. He placed the file on the table. "I've been working my way through the bloods, trying to get information on Ian. He's flipped to the darkside, that's for sure. I saw him kill a policeman in cold blood and shoot one of his old men."

Megan swallowed hard. The Ian Edgerton that they had all liked, hell, who they had all trusted and knew, had brutally shot one of his partners and a policeman. "Do you know why he shot the policeman?"

Billy sighed as he shut the paper. "That was when I got my first hunch that Granger might not be dead. I didn't want to say anything, because if I was wrong…"

"It would put everyone back in turmoil," Megan summarized. "But you heard something. What?"

"Ian was bragging about how he'd killed the police officer to keep Colby Granger from talking," Billy responded in a hushed voice.

"What?" Megan demanded, her lips thin.

"Ian had set rules, early on in Colby's captivity, saying he couldn't talk at all. From my understanding – keep in mind that I just overheard this – if he talked to anyone, they would die, and he would kill or injure someone on the team. He broke away from Ian one day and tried to get help by talking to the policeman…"

"And Ian killed him," Megan responded grimly. Damn. Ian really had flipped to the dark side. She wanted to fry the bastard, and kill him for punishing Colby for simply talking.

"Yeah," Billy responded. He shook his head. "I was going to come talk to you guys, anyway. Is it true that Colby has dyslexia?"

"Yeah," Megan nodded, scratching her head and failing to see why that was relevant.

"That confirms it then." Billy exhaled slowly. "I was trying to determine whether or not he was Colby; I remembered Don saying that one of his team members had dyslexia. I got the chance to talk to Colby, like two days ago. I asked him to read me something. He kept tripping over the words."

"He can read," Megan reminded Billy as she turned to face him.

Billy held up his hands in self-defense against the suddenly irate FBI agent. "I know, I know. I think he was nervous because Ian was there. But Ian – he punished him for that, too. I don't know what his game is. But I think he intentionally let Colby make that phone call."

Megan frowned. "Why?"

"Because Ian wanted to punish Colby by capturing someone on his team," Billy responded with a sigh. "I wanted to warn you guys, but obviously, Ian got here first."

"Now," Megan responded grimly, "We have to decide what he's going to do next, before it is killing an FBI agent."

It was then when they were interrupted by another man entering the break room. "Are you Billy Cooper and Megan Reeves?"

Megan glanced at Billy, unsure of whom the new man was. Billy just nodded, although she noticed that his hand was on his gun in his holster.

"We're experiencing an emergency," the man said. "I'm John Sheets. I'm Ian's handler. He's been undercover for the past four months in the Bloods, way deep. His initiation was to capture an FBI agent; that's why he took Colby Granger. But I haven't heard from Ian in a week, and I know he's received at least one death threat. I need your help trying to find him."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for your patience. School has been a challenge. I hope to now be able to update on a more regular basis.

Enjoy, and review, review, review. I have some free time later and might be prompted to update.

### - ## BREK ##

Megan was beyond pissed, to say the least. She swallowed hard, wondering if Colby would ever be able to get justice for his month of torture or if this bastard would be able to acquit Ian of all of his charges. "Your undercover agent," she responded, her voice harsh, "has abducted two FBI officers and tortured one for a month. He's crossed the lines." She crossed her arms and glanced at Billy for his comments.

"Maybe we should talk privately while I explain," John said, glancing at Megan and backing up nervously.

Billy couldn't help but snicker quietly at John's sudden change in demeanor. He personally agreed with Megan about Ian's conduct, but knew that they needed to hear out John's side of the story. As well as verify that he was actually Ian's handler. "Let's talk in the interrogation room. We won't be interrupted," Billy responded smoothly. The message would also be recorded, he thought.

The three made their way toward the FBI office and entered the bullpen. Billy quietly turned on the recording device and the monitor before slipping inside. "Why don't you start at the beginning," he responded. "We've been left out of the loop on this one. Clearly. As have the rest of the FBI," he added dryly, crossing his arms.

"I know. I know. You had too," John responded as he buried his face in his hands. "We suspected that a few members of the Bloods were high-up FBI agents. To get initiated into the Bloods, you have to perform some sort of test. Because Ian was a former FBI agent, they made him abduct an FBI agent. They killed the guy Ian was accused of, and set up the drop."

"Why choose Colby Granger?" Billy asked, glancing at his notes. "After all, Don was in the room too. He'd make a pretty valuable hostage."

It was a question that had been burning throughout the past month.

"Ian thought that Colby was 'tough' and that he could handle it. He didn't want to take Don away from his family. He also thought that Colby would understand, given his time in the FBI as the mole."

Megan snorted. "I'll be sure to let Colby know. I'm sure he'll be glad for why he was captured."

"Look, we're trying to flush out crooked FBI agents," John responded. "We have everything documented, because we knew this was going to look bad. That police officer that Colby talked too? He was undercover in the Bloods. Colby wasn't supposed to talk. Ian set that rule for Colby's protection. The guy was going to slit Colby's throat. That's why Ian shot him."

Megan glanced at Billy. This was definitely new information. "So why does he keep putting out cigarettes on Colby's arm? One of our agents got a good look at him and his arm is covered in burns."

John sighed. "Ian had to find some way to torture Colby without causing long-lasting, permanent harm. Most FBI agents abducted by the Bloods are killed outright, but Ian managed to convenience them that Colby was better left alive. He needed some way to torture Colby that wouldn't cause long-term permanent emotional or physical damage. Putting out his cigarettes on Colby was the only thing I could think of. Would you prefer it if I'd told him to beat Colby with his belt every night?"

"We have a statement that says Ian tortured Colby on a regular basis," Billy responded. He'd listened in on Colby's phone conversation with Don. Sure, Billy knew that Colby had said 'beaten up,' but Billy had met the badass agent. Colby didn't even admit injuries unless, well, it was torture.

"Ian tried to go as easy on Colby as possible, but he had to look guilty and he had to control Colby. Ian's kept trying to release Colby, but every time, another member of the Bloods would quickly capture him. Ian would have to find some way to punish Colby without killing him."

"So why abduct Don?"

"Colby got assaulted pretty bad by two of the Bloods the other day. He needed medical attention and care. Ian wanted to release Colby, but couldn't think of a way to do it. He tried to set up the bust, so that you guys could rescue him, but it went down wrong. The last thing I heard from my chatter was that Ian had abducted Don to let Don grant Colby the help that he couldn't give him."

Megan glanced at Billy. It all sounded plausible, she supposed. Still, Colby would no doubt be pissed. She winced, thinking of his reaction. "So you haven't heard from him?"

"He checks in with me every Tuesday without fail at nine o'clock. Both a.m. and p.m. Sometimes he can't talk long, but he always calls. This week he didn't."

"Why ask from help for us?" Megan asked.

"Because Ian trusts you."

## Break ##

Colby groaned as he moved his foot. He took off the wrapper and stared at it. It had stopped bleeding, but it was still very bad. He winced as he put his foot on the floor.

A month of being held hostage had taken its toll on Colby, and although he was trying to be his usual cheerful, annoying self, he was finding it difficult. Ian's goons punished him every time he'd uttered a word for the first two weeks of his captivity, and he was finding it hard to want to speak.

He vividly remembered the scene where Ian had killed the policeman all because Colby had talked. What had Colby done to deserve this? Why had he been taken? Hell, why hadn't he called in sick to work that day?

Colby swallowed hard as he leaned over the trash can and heaved the remainder of his breakfast into it. He was pretty sure he wasn't getting all his nutrients; he kept vomiting any bread he ate or anything with flour. He suspected it was drugged.

Don groaned as he awoke. That was another reason Colby was pissed; Don's abduction. Ian had taken him aside and beaten him after he'd knocked Don unconscious, telling Colby it was his fault for quote "fucking up" the operation.

"Good morning," Don said. He glanced at Colby, concern in his eyes. "What happened?"

"Breakfast disagreed with me. Yours is on the desk. I didn't want to wake you up."

Don nodded. "You always throw up after you eat?" he asked as he unwrapped his sandwich and held it hesitantly in his hands. It would have been the first time Don had eaten since his capture, Colby noted, his temper flaring at Ian once again.

"Only after I eat anything that's got flour in it." Colby had been noting his symptoms after he'd thrown up the first few times. "I'm thinking Ian's probably drugging it."

"It's certainly plausible. If it's only flour, though," Don responded as he pulled out his sausage patty, "It could be celiac disease. Dad's sister had it. It just means you can't eat gluten, that's all."

"Gluten?" Colby asked. Damn. Not good.

"Wheat, oats, barley, rye. Here, try eating just the sausage patty and see if you're okay."

"You haven't eaten in three days," Colby responded. "You need it more than I do."

"Just try it for me," Don replied with a shake of his head. "You've been the one who's been held hostage for a month."

Colby just sighed and accepted the kid-sized patty. "You think David is okay?" he asked, thinking of his friend who might have just given his life to attempt to set Colby free.

An uneasy feeling formed in Don's gut as he glanced at Colby. "I sure hope so," he responded.

As soon as Colby swallowed the remainder of his food, the door opened, and Ian Edgerton was shoved roughly in the room.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This update is dedicated to all my reviewers… because I'm determined to keep you guessing! My right arm has been in a lot of pain this week which is why I've been unable to update. (And why Colby will be facing an injured arm in my next book.) I'll try and update both this and end my other book by the end of the weekend. Thanks for being so patient and for reviewing. I'd love to know what you think is the next stop for the book!

## Break ##

Ian Edgerton glared at the man behind him. "I told you not to push me around," he barked, his arms crossed, his attention off of Don and Colby for just a minute. Don glanced at Colby, who nodded briefly back. If they could just jump the two men while they were distracted, while they were fighting, then they might have a chance to get free. Don and Colby had talked last night. Even if Ian was undercover, the operation needed stopped; it had gone in too deep.

"But I thought you said…," The second man responded, clearly confused. It was at that moment Don and Colby took advantage of the situation. Don plowed into Ian, knocking him down. Colby, a bit hurt but still not letting up, plowed into the second man. He was knocked unconscious as Colby attempted to untangle his legs from the man's death-vise grip.

Ian and Don were in a death-grip for Ian's pistol when Don suddenly saw someone coming from the shadows of the hallway. He knew instantly that in the shape he and Colby were in, they'd be outnumbered and out gunned, and quite possibly killed. Just as Colby was about to turn and help Don, Don yelled, "Run, Colby! Get out of here before they get you! If you stay here, we're as good as dead!"

Colby wanted to help Don, but he knew that if he did, they were both dead. He forced himself to leave his boss behind as he turned and sped off, looking for the nearest pay phone. A mile later, he found one, sitting in all of its glory aside an almost abandoned gas station. He punched in the numbers 9-1-1, not bothering with calling LAPD, fearing that the pay phone would reject him for not having enough money.

"_This is the 9-1-1 operator. How can I help you_?"

"We have an agent down and we need medical assistance and back-up at 22-25 Weston Road," Colby responded, panting heavily. "I need back-up, too. I'm about a mile away from there and I'm also injured."

"Back-up and EMTS are on the way. Can I get names?"

"Special Agent Granger and Special Agent Eppes," Colby responded, uneasy feelings in his gut growing. "I need transferred to Special Agent Megan Reeves now."

## - ## Break ##

Megan picked up the phone on its first ring. "Special Agent Megan Reeves," she answered, hastily walking down the hallway. She motioned towards Billy to follow her.

"It's Colby, Megan." The voice sounded hoarse and tired – and beautiful. It was the first time Megan had heard from Colby in nearly a month and a half.

She wanted to stop dead in her tracks and listen to the conversation but she knew she had to walk faster. "Talk to me, Colby." She swallowed hard, knowing that she wouldn't like what she was about to hear.

"Ian let down his guard for about a second. Don and I jumped him. Don's still back with him – I'm at a pay phone somewhere. I guess dispatch is tracing it."

"Colby, are you alright?"

"I don't feel so good."

Megan winced. That didn't sound good. Colby admitting he didn't feel so good probably meant that he'd been shot. "Colby, hang on for me, okay?" she demanded, wincing as she made herself move even faster.

"I'm not that close to death yet." She heard some movement in the background, and Colby's strangled explanation of "shit!" before she heard someone chuckling into the phone and hanging up.

"What's going on?" Billy demanded as he made his stride faster.

"Colby's in even more trouble than he was," Megan responded grimly as she slid into her car and started the ignition.

## - ##

Billy Cooper stared at the crime scene. Blood dotted the pay phone, but Colby was nowhere to be found. Officers were crawling through the surrounding area, trying to get a lead, but Billy suspected that he was gone. "Hey, Megan," he responded, putting on gloves and touching a blue sling, "Look at this."

"What's that?" she asked, wincing when she saw that it was covered in blood.

"It's got Colby's name on it. David said his arm was injured, right? Maybe they gave him this for it."

"Well, that would explain why Colby ditched it, right? To run faster. But why give him first aid?"

"Don probably gave him first aid," Billy guessed. He paused as he made his way behind the phone booth. "Oh, yeah. Colby was definitely here."

"Damn," Megan muttered as she looked at the bloody, sloppy handwriting on the back of the payphone booth. It was definitely Colby's handwriting; the 'b' permanently backward. "That's the one letter he can never get straight."

"Oh, there's our favorite agent," Billy drawled sarcastically as he watched John Sheets get out of the car. "Maybe you should handle this one, Megan. I might just kill him if he gets too close."

John Sheets approached, his stance nervous. It had been ever since Megan had pissed him off in the FBI office. "What do we know?" he questioned.

Megan and Billy glanced at each other. Before they could decide what to say, John glanced at the back of the pay phone booth. "There's no way that's Granger's writing. This must have been a prank call. It's way too sloppy," he responded.

John was on the floor in an instant, knocked away from the wreckage. "His hand is injured, he's been held captive for a month, and he has dyslexia. That is his writing," Billy Cooper demanded, his face looming over John as he clutched the man's shirt. "You really want to mess this up further? You want to lead us the wrong direction, get your buddy Ian free?"

"Whoa, easy, Billy," Megan responded, pulling Billy off of the irate ICE agent. She turned to face the man who pushed himself up. "We'll work on finding Ian and Colby. Why don't you just go back to the FBI office and sit tight."

John Sheets just shook his head and pulled out his pistol. "I really can't let you do that," he responded with a big grin. "Because you might just give away everything I've been working for."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Dedicated to all my awesome reviewers! Hope you like the twist!

## - Break ##

Don was roughly shoved into the room, his hands catching his fall on the floor. He was brutally kicked, his stomach churning in anguish. Swallowing hard, he did not attempt to move as he felt another boot kick him. He was surprised he and Colby hadn't been shot.

Colby was roughly shoved in the room next, his hands yanked behind him and tied roughly. Colby couldn't help but give a cry of pain as Ian stepped on his injured arm and roughly twisted it. He closed his eyes, attempting to steady his breathing as he watched Ian bring out a heavy brown leather belt.

"Hands against the bed," Ian sneered, shoving Don face-first towards the mattress on the floor. "Here's how it's going to work. You're going to get twenty lashes for your escape attempt. You miss counting one, I add five more to Colby's punishment. We clear?"

Colby swallowed hard, remembering how he'd been punished with the belt last time. "Ian," he responded, not wanting Don to have the same scars that he did, "I'll take it."

"Shut up!" Ian responded, kicking Colby roughly. He withdrew his knife from his sheaf. "And stop calling me fucking Ian! My name is NOT Ian, dammit!"

## break ##

"Hey, David," Nikki said as she made her way into the hospital. "How are you doing?"

"Doctor said he's going to sign me out of here this morning," David replied. Despite the doctor's words, Nikki could tell David still looked exhausted. "How is the case going?"

"I haven't actually heard from Megan yet. She's booked Billy Cooper, Gary Walker, and some other guys. Oh, yeah, and some guy named John Sheets was talking to her and Billy about information."

"Did you say John Sheets?" David demanded, getting out of bed. They had taken his IV's out and patched up his bullet wound, so he felt fairly confident that he could stand.

"Yeah. Get this: guy claims to be Ian's handler. Says the whole thing was cover."

"Damn," David muttered as he started pulling on his pants. "Damn, damn, damn. Nikki, remember how Granger played that whole mole role?"

"Yeah," Nikki responded, clearly confused. "He was cleared of all the charges though. He was workin' undercover."

"One FBI agent didn't think he was working undercover and wanted to punish him. He attacked Colby, the attack left Colby unconscious and in the hospital for a week," David responded with a swallow. He pulled on his short-sleeve polo. "And that man's name was…"

"John Sheets," Nikki guessed, going out the hallway to flag down the doctor. "Damn."

## - Break - ##

Don groaned as he was roughly thrown into another room, his headache pounding louder than ever before. Maybe Colby was right, maybe their food was drugged, or maybe Don just hadn't gotten enough liquid. He grimaced at that thought; dehydration would soon be upon him if he didn't get some water. He sat up, noticing they were back in the room where he and Colby first started, which meant that there was a sink. There was one difference, however.

Ian Edgerton was in the room. Unconscious, it looked like, although Don couldn't be sure. Don exhaled, knowing, or hoping, that Colby would soon be back from his beating. Don had missed counting twice, even though he'd said the numbers out loud, which meant that ten lashes would be added to Colby's beating. It was a fact that did not set well with the federal agent.

"Ian?" he asked, seeing the man. He could tell, now, that the man on the floor really was Ian Edgerton, and that the man who had been holding them captive wasn't. It would explain the man's comment that he wasn't Ian Edgerton earlier. But why….?

The man stirred in response. Don exhaled slowly. After the harsh beating he'd gotten, and the two or three new knife marks he'd had, he wanted answers. "Ian, wake up," he commanded, slapping the man roughly on the face.

The man bolted upright, attacking Don with a swift punch. He winced as soon as he recognized who Don was. "Sorry," Ian responded as he sank against the bed. "I thought you were someone else."

"Clearly," Don remarked dryly. He was not amused, especially because now he'd have a nice new additional eye bruise. "Want to tell me what's been going on?"

"First things first," Ian demanded. "What's the date?"

Don paused at that. "I don't know. It was March fourteenth when I was kidnapped, I think I've been kidnapped for three to four days."

"Have you seen Colby Granger? Is he still alive?"

"Yeah, he's in the room getting beaten by your twin," Don responded, his voice rising in anger.

Ian sighed as he leaned against the bed. "Remember that day when I took Colby hostage? Don, I needed some way to communicate with you. They, that is, the Bloods, made me do it; that was my initiation. I was going to release Colby, but I couldn't. They drugged Colby, made it look like he was dead, and abducted me, too," Ian said with a weary sigh. "How long has it been since that happened?"

It was clear that Ian had been kept in the dark since his capture. "About a month and two weeks now, I think."

Ian shook his head. "Then, they created this guy who looks like me. Man, you should see all the shit-crazy stuff they have for plastic surgery. They kept coming in here, telling me what they were doing to Colby, telling me that Colby thought that _I was doing it…" _Ian's voice was full of bitter hatred.

"So why leave you alive? Why leave Colby alive?"

"They took Colby to get you to stop investigating the Bloods. They wanted me alive so that I could fill them in on some information that I had on the Bloods." Ian smirked. "Not that I've told them anything yet."

"Looks like they've tried to get the information out of you," Don remarked as he glanced at Ian.

"Yeah," Ian responded with a shrug. "Nothing compared to what Colby's going through, though. I was going to grab you, because I figured they'd pull out all the stops looking for you, but someone gave orders that I had to grab Colby."

"Why Colby?" Don asked, frowning.

"I don't know. I'm just hoping I'll live long enough to find out."

Don was about to ask Ian another question as Colby Granger was roughly shoved into the room, his arm twisted, his eyes clearly in pain. "What did you do to him?" Don demanded as he helped Colby lay on the green army style mattress.

"I gave him the punishment he deserved," the man responded with a smile. He whipped out his knife, placing it against Don's Adam's apple. "And remember what I told you about not speaking?"

## - # Break

_A/N: Don't worry, you'll find out what happens to Billy and Megan in the next chapter… should I let them live? XD My arm is feeling better, so I decided to give you a quick update. Hope you all enjoy the twists and turns! _


	9. Chapter 9

Don had sat with injured FBI members before, and he knew that it was going to be a long night. Colby still hadn't woken up yet. Don had tried to force some water down his lips, but not much got in. Don gave up, wanting to save the bottle of water for when Colby was actually awake.

It wasn't until twenty-two hours later, after Don had drifted back to sleep a few times, that he heard Colby starting to move. "Colby?" he asked as he saw the man struggle to get up.

"'m fine," Colby responded as he rubbed his eyes. "Where are we?" 

"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, no doubt. Let's worry about you, though, man. Be careful with that arm," Don responded.

"I'm fine, Don," Colby responded. He groaned as he sat back against the bed. "When do we attempt to get out of here?"

"When you can walk straight," Don responded. Although he was glad to see Colby was feeling braver, he didn't want the man to attempt an escape. "Look, with the last escape attempt, they almost shot you. I think we need to just lay low."

"Yeah, but Don…"

"We can't do anything about it until that door opens, anyway. It's bolted to the wall."

It was then when Colby did a double-take as he looked at Ian. "What the hell is he doing here?"

## Break ##

Megan held up her hands. "Whoa, take it easy," she responded as she held up her hands. "You didn't shoot us, so you want us alive. Tell us what you want," she responded.

Billy glanced at Megan. She was good at the profiler stuff, he decided. He knew they had to take action, though. They clearly needed to do more digging on who John Sheets really was. Apparently the usual let's-verify-that-you're-an-FBI-officer hadn't worked.

"I want you," he responded, leveling the gun at Megan, "to feel what it is like to loose your job, your life, and your career over a traitor."

"What do you mean?" Billy asked, now curious. Megan's cell phone that she had been ordered to throw was within a few inches of Billy. If he could just get to it, he would be fine, he thought. He scooted over slightly, holding his breath. The man didn't notice.

"You wouldn't know. Remember when Colby Granger was attacked and left unconscious in a hospital bed? That ring a bell? I did that. He's a traitor. He deserved to be punished," John responded. "Instead, they arrested me and they set him free."

"He was undercover," Megan responded. She glanced at Billy. "He was trying to flush out someone in the DOJ. You're an FBI agent, you know that." 

"I'm one of the FBI agents he was trying to flush out!" John responded angrily as he raised his gun and pushed it against Megan's forehead. "How does knowing that make you feel?"

## Break ##

"Damn," David muttered as he leapt out of his car. Nikki struggled to catch up. He threw Nikki his phone. "Call LAPD and tell them to get their asses over here. They should be here already," he added.

John Sheets was holding a gun directly at Megan's head, only a few inches away. David couldn't take the shot while John's hand was on the trigger. He exhaled slowly made his way and approached, knowing that the second he was spotted would be the most dangerous.

"I was one of the FBI agents that Colby was trying to 'flush out!'" he heard the man's angry voice yell. "I told you that. Now how do you think that makes me feel? He had to be punished. Scum like him shouldn't be left to live!"

"So why kidnap him again?" Megan asked.

"I want to take out as many FBI agents as I can in this lifetime," John responded. "Colby is one of them. To pay him back, I'm going to get revenge on the team. But I'm not the one in charge here." 

"Who is in charge, John?" David responded calmly as he finally stepped into John's line of view.

John's gun jerked away from Megan and up towards David. David had a clear shot but wanted to try and take John alive. There had to be some information the man knew. "I can't tell you that. But the rest of you don't matter. Well, except for Don. Don's going to be used to punish Colby," the man responded matter-of-factly. "They didn't buy my story that Ian was undercover, so they deserve to die."

David raised his hands. "Okay, okay, let's just talk this through," he responded.

"I don't want to talk!" John responded. He moved away from Megan, and it was then Billy Cooper leapt and tackled him around his ankles and brought him down.

## Break ##

"I can't believe you left the hospital!"

Nikki smirked as she watched David's mother yell at him from the hallway. It was very amusing to see her boss get railed on by a thin-looking eighty-year-old. David wasn't contradicting her, either, which made the situation all that more amusing. She turned back to Billy. "What'd he say?" she asked.

"He's singing a chorus," Billy responded. "I'm half beginning to think that the whole thing was arranged so that he could get a lightened sentence."

Nikki snorted. "What kinda deal is he going to get?"

"Well, he's wanted on imprisoning an FBI agent; treason, kidnapping an FBI agent, assault on an FBI agent with a deadly weapon… kidnapping two FBI agents… Maybe he'll get the mental hospital."

Nikki sighed and glanced at the window where Megan was talking to the man. "It's a good thing it's not me in there," she responded. "I'd either kick his ass or fall asleep."

"Go catch a nap," Billy responded, seeing Nikki's yawn. At Nikki's unbelieving look, he added, "I'll let you know when we find anything."

Billy then turned back to the files. The whole John Sheets episode felt like a distraction. Something more was going on, he just knew it. He just couldn't put his finger on what. And Don had already been missing almost a week, held hostage by a serial killer who wanted him dead and had murdered a policeman simply for Colby's "mistake" of talking.

## Break ##

A/N: Remember – Billy doesn't know Ian's innocent yet. When do you think they should find out?

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I apologize for the delay in updating. I have eight tests to take in a ten week period. After tomorrow or Tuesday, two will be down and only six will be left to go. I've got less time to update FanFiction than usual, though. I'm hoping that after my sociology 101 test I take, I'll be able to catch up. I wanted to play catch up today, but I decided it would be a good day to come down with a sore throat instead. I'm sure you're all jealous of my situation. Anyway, enjoy your udpate!

A/N: By the way, whoever requested it, Billy and Ian will be getting into a fight. (Smile)

-Liz

## Break ##

"I've been held captive the past month, just like you," Ian responded. He rolled up his shirt sleeve. "And before you go accusing me of anything, they branded me just like they did you."

Colby was pissed. Actually, beyond pissed was probably a better description. He didn't see how Don could trust Ian so easily. Although his unconscious was telling him that Ian was telling the truth, he'd been held hostage a whole month by Ian's look-alike, and the truth was a little hard to swallow. He sighed, wondering if he'd ever get justice for what was done to him. "Yeah, right," he responded. He made his way towards the window, the feeling of betrayal hitting home once more.

"Colby…"

Don remained silent, feeling it best to let Ian and Colby fight this one out for themselves. He didn't want to be stabbed by one of them unless they were going to kill each other. He remained silent, but focused on both men.

"Look, Ian," Colby responded, finally turning away from the window, "Your look-alike held me hostage for a month. I don't complain much, you know that. But after a month of being beaten and held hostage, I'm more than ready to go home."

"You think I'm not?" Ian responded.

"Hey!" Don responded, deciding it was time to interrupt the conversation before it went any further. Both Colby and Ian could be hotheaded, and he didn't want them alerting their captors that they were going to be a problem. He'd already experienced enough of a beating for being, as his captor told him, "an inconvenience." "How about we become productive here, and worry about the who's innocent thing later. Can we at least call a truce?"

"Fine," Colby responded as he hesitantly held out his hand to Ian. Don could tell that he wasn't very happy with it. For that matter, Don wasn't either. Ian could still be playing them. "Truce," he responded.

"Truce," Ian responded. "The door in this room is bolted to the door. I've tried everything I know how to do with it, but with no luck."

"We're going to have to be careful when we attempt escape again," Don responded as he sank down to the floor. "They still won't let me speak, and they almost killed Colby the last time."

Colby remained silent, thinking of his time he'd spent with Ian, or, well, Ian's double. "Are you sure you don't have any twins, Ian?" he asked.

"Not that I can remember," Ian responded. He sighed and showed Colby his fingertips. "See how they're scraped off? They wanted my access in public security before things were shut down so they took my fingerprints."

"They took your _fingerprints_?" Don responded, horrified. He'd seen and heard of grizzly things before, but he wanted his fingerprints simply for him.

"I wouldn't give them the access code, so they decided to go about it another way," Ian replied with a shrug.

"Hey, guys, I think I have an idea," Colby said, suddenly remembering something that Ian's double had told him. He swallowed hard. "There's just one problem."

"What's that?" Don asked.

"It means me being bait."

## Break ##

Nikki Bentacourt just shook her head as she watched David continue to question John Sheets. Or, alternatively, attempt to continue to question John. John had been helpful for the first thirty minutes of the interview. During the second half, he demanded a lawyer, said David was scum, and kept screaming obscenities.

"How's it going?" Charlie asked as he stared at the prisoner, sliding his way into the booth.

"I'm thinkin' he's got a really, really good chance for the 'mental insanity' plea," Nikki responded. She instantly spied the yellow manila paper in Charlie's hands. "What do you have?"

"Analyzing data." Charlie sighed as he sat down. "There's just not that much that I know. I was hoping to be able to add the data from John Sheets to the case."

"Well, he gave us a few names. Billy said that at first he thought that Ian was innocent, gave us a list of reasons why. He's one sick psycho, I'll give him that."

Charlie winced, and Nikki sighed, remembering that her boss was Don's brother and that she had to be careful what she said to him. Don could still, very easily, have her job. "What are you thinking, Charlie?"

"The numbers," he admitted, leaning back against the wall. "They're driving me crazy."

"What are the numbers saying?"

"They're saying that it's over a week, and that Colby's been held hostage over a month. There's no way they'll ever be found alive."

"Yeah, well, numbers can be wrong," Nikki responded. "Remember, your numbers don't realize how much of a kick-ass fighter those two are."

Charlie smiled at that. "But when we do bring them home again…" he swallowed hard. "Will they be the same?"

## Break ##

Colby held his breath, hearing the footsteps coming outside of the door. Ian had taken caution to tell him everything that could go wrong with the plan. As if Colby didn't already know! He wasn't exactly thrilled about being bait. He'd been able to counter Ian's answers with challenges of his own, and they'd agreed to a slight altercation of Colby's plan.

"Damn," Ian hissed as he heard the footsteps move away from the door. Colby felt, after talking with Ian, that the man was telling the truth about being held hostage. He didn't understand why Ian had been held hostage instead of being killed. The same went for both him and Don, though.

The door opened, the man's weapon front and center as he handed the bag of food to Don. "That'll last you until breakfast," he chuckled with a grin.

Colby didn't feel hopeful that he was going to get any of it, but it didn't matter. If they could just leave and be free, then it would be totally worth it.

"Colby needs medical attention," Don responded as he stood up, placing the bag of food on the floor. "We need a first aid kit."

"Sorry, we don't give first aid to prisoners," the man responded with a sneer. He pressed his way into the room and cocked his gun directly at Don. "Maybe your dying remains will help."

"Let it go, Shyiago," another man responded. "After all, federal agents are our friends," he added with a sneer.

Don's breath hitched. This was the moment of truth. This was when the plan would work or not work.

"Let's just put him out of his misery," Shyiago responded as he leveled the rifle away from Don and straight at Colby.

It was then that Don moved, launching his attack. Colby, who had purposely been faking unconsciousness, leapt into the battle too. He wasn't sure he'd be able to run for it, but he was sure as hell going to try.

"Shit," he breathed, hearing the emergency alarm. Shyiago had his arms pinned down to the floor. He was attempting to kick the man, but Shyiago was twice as big as he was. "Run, Don, they've sounded the alarms! Call for backup!"

"You're never going to get out of here alive," Shyiago responded. Ignoring Don and Ian, who had dashed out the front door in a last-ditch attempt to dial for backup, Shyiago leveled his rifle at Colby's head. "You're going to die."

And this was why Colby knew the plan would involve using him as bait.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I warn you – another cliffhanger; but I promise I'll update soon. Thanks to everyone for their reviews.

## Break ##

Colby swallowed hard as he closed his eyes. The gun rested firmly on his forehead, and he was sure that if he moved, he was dead. He paused, counting the seconds silently. The longer Shyiago waited to make the move the longer he would remain alive. It would also be a better chance of him overpowering Shyiago, even though that was unlikely to happen in his current condition.

"Take him!" another man responded as he ran into the room. "The other two feds are gone; we need one as a hostage, or they'll start digging dirt on us all over again!"

"We've already held him hostage a month," Shyiago whined even as he pulled Colby up by his injured arm. Colby gasped in pain even though he tried to stifle it. Shyiago pointedly ignored this as he yanked again and hauled Colby to his feet.

"Look, he's the only federal agent we've got, and we have orders from above not to shoot him. Unless you want to die when you break those orders, I think that you'd better let him live." The other man turned to Colby. "That doesn't mean you should try and escape, though. I'm an excellent shot and I can easily take a kneecap out."

"Fuck you," Colby responded, surprising even himself by getting angry. He winced when the man leaned forward and shoved him against the back wall, pointing a gun at his head.

"I can leave you with permanent brain damage if you'd prefer," the man sneered. Sirens whirled in the distance, and Shyiago swore.

"We don't have time for this!" Shyiago responded hoarsely. "We need to get out of here!"

## Break ##

"There's the police station," Don responded as he pointed up ahead. He and Ian had jogged fairly quickly, breaking two miles in record time. He hated leaving Colby behind, but he knew there was no way they would be able to overpower the men. He swallowed, now fully realizing why Colby had stated that the plan involved using him as bait. _Yeah, well, I don't like it either, buddy, he thought._

"We can't go to that one," Ian responded with a shake of his head. "Those police locked both Colby and I up overnight once as 'prisoners of the state.'"

"Colby tell you that?" Don asked, glancing hesitantly at the police station. Sure, he was a federal agent. But he also knew he was marked by Ian's twin and his days were limited if the police station truly believed in holding federal agents hostage.

"My twin bragged about it," Ian responded with a shake of his head. He winced when sirens whirled around the corner. "Damn it, Don! We have to go."

The two took off running, even though Don didn't personally agree with his friend's decision. He knew, though, that Ian and Colby knew the area better than him, especially since they'd both been held captive for a month by the Bloods. Don exhaled sharply, wincing as his foot cut on a rough stone.

Ian glanced back at him, noticing he slowed down. "What happened?"

"My foot got cut," Don responded as he attempted to look at it.

"We don't have time for that! If we get caught here, we're dead," Ian responded as he made his way around the corner at a break neck speed. Don's speed doubled as he saw a gang member walking by, ignoring the fact that he had no shoes and that his foot hurt like hell.

He swallowed hard, wondering what both Colby and Ian had survived the past month, and what scars they would face when they got out.

## Break ##

Billy groaned as he left the interrogation room. They had picked up Ian on the side of the road, wondering one of the interstates. At least, Ian's double. The man claimed to be Ian and even had Ian's fingerprints, but the man didn't just feel like Ian to Colby. Billy had decided to take a self-imposed break from the interrogation. He felt sick to his stomach. The man had described, in great detail, what he'd done to Colby and what he'd done to Don.

_"I told Colby, if he talked, I'd slit his throat," the man responded. "_So one night Colby decided to make nice by talking to a police officer. I couldn't kill Colby, he was too fun to mess with. So I slit the police officer's throat instead."__

_"You killed a law enforcement officer," Megan responded. She had exchanged a disgusted look with Billy. "Why?"_

_"Why? Because Colby broke the rules, that's why. Listen, Colby got too close to our leader. He was going to take him down! That's why we had to kidnap him. When I was in that room it presented a perfect chance to take Colby out."_

_"Why would you want to kidnap a federal agent?" Billy had asked._

_ "It's the goal of our agency to eliminate as many federal agents as possible in this lifetime." _

That's when Billy had taken a break. Sure, he knew Ian Edgerton had been rough around the edges, but by all indications, he'd been a good FBI agent. He hadn't indicated anything about wanting to take out federal agents.

"Something doesn't feel right to you either, huh?" Megan guessed as she slipped out of the room. Ian's double was still smiling happily.

"No," Billy admitted. "But I don't know what." He sighed as he checked his watch. "I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee. Do you or David want anything?"

"Yeah, get us each a real cup o' Joe," Megan responded with a smile. "I'm going to go give Charlie these names and see what he can come up with."

## Break ##

Don groaned as something hit his leg. Fire flew through him and he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. "Don?" Ian was instantly at his side. "Don!" he responded in concern, slapping Don to attempt to get his attention. "Damn," Ian muttered as he pulled the needle out of Don's leg. He studied it closely. It was an obvious indicator that the Bloods were close by; close enough where they could see both Don and Ian. Obviously, there had been orders to take them alive, but how long that would last, Ian didn't know.

"Damn it!" he muttered again, frustrated. He picked up Don by his legs and started dragging him, moving him closer to the side of the road. There was an alleyway less than a block away – a good location to duck into. He had guessed from the angle the needle had flown that the sniper had taken that the sniper would need a minute to get to their location; precious time in which he could use to hide.

## Break ##

Billy stepped out of his car, feeling exhausted. He really needed that cup of coffee. Nikki and David had been up almost seventy-two hours. Alan had been hanging around the office, putting his knowledge into the landscape equation in the search. Billy was just glad the search hadn't been scaled down yet. Don had been missing a week and a half, but because two federal agents were missing, Colby being one of them, the case was still active.

It helped that they had been finding ample ammunition to use against the Bloods as well. The Blood's ring was starting to get smaller.

It was as Billy stepped out of his car that he noticed something odd going on. He frowned as he saw the body of someone being dragged. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Ian Edgerton's face.

_What the hell? He thought, his hands automatically on his gun. Ian had just been in lock-up less than twenty minutes ago! Why the hell hadn't there been some notion or some action surrounding his escape? It wasn't as if the location Billy was at were so far away from the FBI office that he wouldn't have noticed._

Billy's mouth gaped open. There was Don, clearly unconscious, clearly injured, being dragged by Ian Edgerton into the alleyway. "Don!" he responded, his adrenaline running. "Ian, let him go!" he yelled, his gun held steady as he advanced forward, noting Ian's gradual dragging of Don to the alleyway, where there would no doubt be a car waiting to take Don back. "Think about what you're doing, man!"


	12. Chapter 12

See, I promised I'd update soon!

_A/N: It can be a little confusing with the point-of-view changes in the first section, but I felt it was the best way to actively describe what was happening. Thanks for asking; my throat is feeling better, now it's a cold that I have! My sociology test went well today so I'm updating as a way of saying thank you for being patient. As requested by NotSing, a fight between Billy and Ian… please read and review! _

_## Break ## _

Ian didn't stop when he heard Billy's words, knowing that they had to get Don out of the line of fire. Billy's gun rose sharply and he followed the two around the corner, his gun drawn, held steadily at Ian. "I'm unarmed!" Ian responded, letting Don gently down to the ground. "It's not what it looks like," Ian responded as Billy roughly grabbed him.

"It's not what it looks like, huh, pal?" Billy demanded, shoving him against the wall. Ian felt a twinge of sympathy for the prisoners he'd handled roughly but ignored it. There were more pressing matters – like figuring out how to get Billy _not _to arrest him. "Hands behind your back," he ordered, yanking Ian's hand roughly as he handcuffed him.

It was then when Billy hesitated. These were not the clothes that he remembered the investigation-room Ian wearing. True, it would be easy to do a bait-and-switch with clothes in twenty minutes, but… Once more Billy felt like the situation didn't add up even though he didn't know why. He knew he had to be careful.

"I've been held captive just like Don and Colby," Ian responded as he was patted down. Billy shoved him next to the wall and turned his attention to Don.

"What did you do to him?" he demanded as he looked at his unconscious friend. He took note of Ian's demeanor, who looked grim as he viewed the wall. If Ian was guilty, there may well be more Bloods in the area. But something told him the man was innocent. Regardless of what he thought, he still had to follow proper procedures and that meant bringing Ian in.

"I didn't do anything!" Ian responded with a glare. If Billy was going to be a hard-headed ass, then Ian would have to take action, no matter where it landed him. Don needed medical attention fast, and they needed to get out of the area. If Billy was the only FBI agent, and it looked like he was, then there was going to be trouble.

Billy felt for Don's pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it there. He moved his hand towards his cell phone, ready to dial for back-up.

"No!" Ian suddenly shouted, launching himself towards Billy. If Billy were to call for backup now, they would send a sure alert to the Bloods about where they were. The Bloods had been able to recapture both him and Colby, and probably Don, when they'd escaped because they had radios to listen for chatter from the police. Billy tumbled to the ground, letting out a small cry as he thudded against the pavement. "You can't do that! You'll send them right after us! We have to get him to a hospital!"

"I know that," Billy responded with clenched teeth. This was how Colby had gotten kidnapped, he thought, being jumped by Ian. Billy hoped that his inability to call for back-up wouldn't result in the same thing happening to him.

"You can't call for back-up in this area." Ian was almost on Billy's throat now, one leg holding him down while he searched for where he'd seen Billy put the handcuff key. The handcuffs slowed down his search in the midst of Billy's struggle, but he moved as fast as he could and held his breath anyway. "The Bloods will be all over us in minutes. They rule this area and they own the police station!"

"Why are you telling me this?" Billy demanded. If he could just wait until he distracted Ian, he could launch a sneak attack. He still needed to call for backup despite Ian's threats.

"Because I'm not living with them for another month," Ian responded as he grabbed Billy's arm and used the handcuffs to free himself. "Ignore your quest for me; we need to get Don down to a hospital!"

"You just attacked a federal agent," Billy responded as he attempted to push himself up.

It was then when Don started to stir, as if sensing the distress between the two. Because Ian had pulled the syringe out before it could fully knock him out, he was still awake. He groaned, not wanting to break up another fight, but he knew he needed to do it to get the two of them focused. Besides, if the place really _was _crawling with Bloods, they were all as good as dead.

## Break ##

Megan sighed as she sipped the office coffee. Billy had been gone for almost thirty minutes now. She sighed, knowing that would take longer than she had planned, but she needed the break almost as much as she did. Nikki came into the room and poured herself a cup of tea. Nikki had decided that coffee had reminded her too much of Colby after his disappearance and refused to drink it "until he got back", which Megan had originally assumed meant never.

Megan wondered if Nikki was going to pick up the coffee habit when Colby returned. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"I just don't feel like he's Ian." Nikki leaned against the refrigerator. "I mean, I dated Ian a few times; almost a month. I'm not saying I know him inside and out, and he still could be guilty, but this guy just doesn't feel like him."

Megan nodded. "That's pretty much what Billy thought. Unfortunately, there's no way to prove it."

"Where the hell is Billy, anyway?" Nikki demanded as she closed her eyes. True, they all needed a break, but they had all been careful to report their whereabouts since Don had gone missing. Nikki hadn't left the FBI office in the past four days for longer than two hours and she was pretty sure Megan and Billy hadn't, either. Contrary to Billy's belief, she had gotten some sleep, but she felt like a cup of coffee – real coffee – would go well.

"I don't know. I swear, though, if I'm not seeing him in fifteen minutes, I'm going to send out a search party," Megan responded.

"You need real coffee that bad, huh?" Nikki joked with a smile. She frowned as she flipped open her cell phone. It read Billy Cooper. Why would he be calling her and not Megan? "Hello?" she asked.

"Nikki, you need to get down here to the hospital. We need you, now!" it was Ian's voice on the other end of the line.

Nikki turned to Megan, her mouth open. "Ian, what happened? What's wrong?" she responded as she set her coffee down, not noticing it spill on the floor. She rushed towards the interrogation room where Ian Edgerton was supposedly sitting.

Megan's mouth dropped open when she heard Nikki's name. "Two Ians?" she responded.

"It's D..." those were the last words that words before the phone cut off.

## Break ##

"You need to get me out of these handcuffs," Billy Cooper demanded as Ian Edgerton took his turn and handcuffed him. "You're abducting a federal agent."

"I'm trying to save your ass," Ian responded, moving his search for Billy's cell phone. He found it and pulled it out.

"Oh, yeah, is that what you told Colby, too, when you kidnapped him?" Billy demanded. He was pissed. He should have called for back-up before he approached Ian, but there was too much of a chance that Ian could have taken off with Don. Now it looked like he was going to be taken with them. He had pulled his car into the alleyway, which obstructed people from the first entrance, the entrance that actually had shops and cafés in it, from view.

"Shut up," Ian told him. He removed Billy's gun from its holster. Billy wanted to attract attention, but knew that Ian was volatile and didn't want anyone else getting hurt. He tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans. He had been granted his shoes, which protected him against the pavement. "We're going to go to the hospital whether you like it or not," he responded as he moved over towards Don.

He flipped open his phone and dialed Nikki's number, the only one from the team he remembered at the top of his head. "Nikki, you need to get down to the hospital. We need you, now," he responded.

"Ian, what happened?"

"It's D…" Ian started to say, but was cut off from a surprise attack from Billy. The phone dropped to the ground, and Billy attempted to twist to get a better grip, but Ian was faster, despite being held captive a month. He turned around and swore when he accidentally crushed the phone.

"Would you stop fighting me?" Ian said.

"Truce," Don said, weakly, from his place on the ground. Billy and Ian both turned their attention towards Don, and Ian used that moment of weakness from Billy to shove him down to the floor. "Call truce."

"Okay, Don, as soon as we get to the hospital, I'll unhandcuff him," Ian responded. He pointed his gun at Billy. "Look, I know you work at the FBI, but other than that, I don't know you from Adam. For all I know, you could be working with the Bloods. So either shut up or I leave you here for the cops to find."

"Fine," Billy grumbled, knowing he was defeated. Getting medical attention for Don was more important, anyway. If Ian was actually telling the truth about taking him to the hospital, that was. Maybe, during the road trip, he could attempt to overpower Ian.

Ian swore when a policeman rounded the corner. They had stalled too long. They had to get out of there before someone else attempted to pull Billy's stunt, or worse, recaptured them. And there was still the simple matter of finding Colby.

## Break ##


	13. Chapter 13

Another update! And another cliffhanger! But don't worry, I'll update soon.

## Break ##

Billy growled as Ian shoved him roughly in the vehicle, all but ripping his car keys out of his pocket. A dirty sock was shoved in his mouth. Don was then, he assumed, placed in the car, and they drove away. He exhaled, fighting against the cuffs even though he knew it was virtually useless. He swore at himself. Why hadn't he called for backup when they reached the area? Ian could have been taken down, and things would have been fine!

The car turned a sharp corner that sent Billy nearly reeling. He tried to catch his breath, gasping, sucking in the air. They drove for an estimated ten minutes until Billy recognized the sounds of an ambulance. The car stopped and the door was opened.

Ian pulled Billy out of the car and unhandcuffed him. Much to Billy's disbelief, they were at a hospital, just like Ian had said. He turned to Ian, who handed him the gun. "I know what you're going to think," Ian responded with a shake of his head. "Just get him to the hospital, alright?"

That sent Billy spiraling into action, determined to get medical care for Don before it was too late. They still didn't know what he'd been drugged with. He nodded to Ian, who picked up Don's shoulders. Together, they carried Don into the hospital, with Billy feeling very uneasy about arresting this Ian.

_He couldn't possibly be the same guy they had in the waiting room_.

That was the next last coherent thought that Billy had before the nurses swarmed around them, demanding to know what was going on.

## Break ##

Megan picked up her phone. They had been trying to figure out what hospital Ian had said. So far, nobody matching Ian's description had showed up at any of the hospitals, and Billy had yet to return. The uneasy feeling in Megan's gut grew as she hit the 'answer' button on her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Megan, you think you guys can make a side trip to the hospital?" Billy asked. "We found Don, and Ian. Is Ian still with you guys?"

"Yes, there is a Ian here," Megan responded, understanding instantly what happened. Two Ians, one who had likely stole Ian's fingerprints, since they matched in the system. She swallowed hard, wondering if Ian had been held captive the past month just like Colby had. She paused. She wouldn't know anything for certain until they saw them. "Billy, is Ian with you?" she demanded.

"Yes," Billy responded, his voice sour. It was clear that Billy was pissed off about something, although Megan couldn't tell what. "He decided to take a joyride with me to the hospital. He handcuffed me and put me in the trunk."

That surprised Megan. Were both Ians guilty? She was now very confused and dying to talk to Billy and the other Ian. "Why?"

"Because I wasn't listening too him, apparently. I was just trying to get Don for the hospital and dial for back-up. Listen, Megan, I think we need to search that area for the Bloods, Ian suspects they're all over the area." _Great, something else they needed to deal with. At least they could have the LAPD do it. _

"I think you have the right Ian," Megan responded. "Don might be able to confirm it. How is he?"

"I don't know. They said he's being rushed to surgery. He got hit with something and we're not sure what."

"We'll be right there," she promised. "Did you call Alan yet?"

A few colorful words from Billy gave Megan her answer, and she motioned for David to follow her to the hospital.

## Break ##

The man who was carrying Colby grunted. Colby had been knocked unconscious before being transported, and was only just now starting to wake up, although he found that he was fading in and out from sheer exhaustion. He hadn't had any sleep since the night before the escape attempt, and his body was too tired to keep up.

"I don't even understand why we're doing this. We hold him captive what, a whole month, and we dump him outside the FBI office? What the hell sense does that make?" a voice startled Colby, and he winced.

"It'll get the FBI off our asses for awhile. Besides, I've fixed it so Colby won't be able to talk for awhile," the second man smirked. _Great,_ Colby thought, wondering what the man meant. "Secondly, it'll leave the clear and needed message of the fact that we can get to him anytime, anyplace, anywhere."

"I'd rather just shoot him," the first man whined in complaint.

"You'll get too, eventually. Right now, you got to kick his ass. Isn't that enough?"

"He's a federal agent," the first man responded, as if that was explanation enough. The tarp was secured, and the two men, both wearing ski masks, left before they were seen.

## Break ##

Nikki growled as she got out of the office. David and Megan were the senior agents, so they went out at once to make sure she was okay. Understandably, Charlie had also naturally left. Nikki had to babysit Ian until his guard got there. Or, well, the non-Ian Ian. They would see.

Nikki let out a breath, thanking God Don was okay, and hopefully Ian too. She wondered how they'd escaped, and if she'd ever see Colby again. She sighed wistfully. She did miss her black coffee. Still, she'd vowed not to drink it until Colby's reappearance; coffee simply reminded her too much of Colby and his incapability of always making God-awful coffee.

She stood up and stretched as her replacement got there. "Nikki Bentacourt," she said, sticking out her hand.

"Gary Walker," the man responded. He frowned. "You used to be on LAPD. You worked the night shift."

"Oh, yeah, that's right, Megan told me you were coming." Nikki breathed an inward sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to leave the prisoner with a complete stranger. After the John Sheets scare, she was definitely more on her guard. "Good to meet you, sir. And yes, I did work the night shift." She checked her watch. "I need to get to the hospital now."

"Have Megan let me know how Don's doing," Gary said as he settled down into the room to watch their previous interrogation with Ian.

Nikki mumbled out something she hoped was intelligent in response and stepped out into the back off the office. Gathering her back-up and her jacket, she made her way towards her car. She decided at the last minute to take the long way to her car.

After exiting the building, she was stopped by the unusual appearance of a green tarp. "I don't remember that being there," she muttered out loud. Curious, she lifted it up, and screamed as she saw the body laying there.

When she'd uncovered the tarp and discovered that the body was Colby, Nikki found out that she could actually scream a little louder.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Whoa, thanks for the quick response! I wasn't planning on updating today, but I decided too anyway after I checked my e-mail. I have 91 direct orders to write, so it may be awhile (Tuesday-Wednesday) before I can update again.

Thanks for the reviews.

## Break ###

Liz Warner was on her way into the FBI office when she'd heard the scream. She'd wanted to come back the first thing when she heard Don Eppes was missing, but had been on a private assignment from the DOJ, investigating Colby's death. It had taken this long to convince them that she was better off free and helping Don. She did not plan on helping them again.

She advanced forward, her gun held steadily. She had been around the FBI for a long time and knew that screams around the FBI office were never a good thing. The scream also sounded achingly familiar, giving Liz a taste of the old life with her team. Who was it, though?

The scream echoed through again, louder this time. Pretense be damned, Liz held her gun ahead of her while picking up the speed, wishing she hadn't decided to show her female-ness with her high-heeled shoes. _Who the hell wears high-heels to the FBI office, anyway? She thought, angry with herself._

"Nikki?" she demanded. A quick scan of the area gave her the sense that no one else was around, until she saw the body. It was Colby. She quickly holstered her gun. Nikki Bentacourt appeared too shaken up to even touch the body, and Liz quickly drew her into a sisterly hug. "What happened?" she asked.

"Tha… tha… that's Colby," Nikki sobbed, clinging to Liz as if she were clinging to dear life. Liz took her hand and felt for Colby's pulse, and jerked it back in reaction.

Colby was alive.

She hadn't known that! She swallowed hard, cursing her supervisors at the DOJ with every name in the book she could think of. Had Nikki known? Had she thought that the man was here, dead? Liz wanted information and she wanted it now, but she knew that first things had to come first and she had to get Colby medical attention. She dialed 9-1-1, speaking into the operator, telling her the needed information, giving her the codewords 'agent down' to make LAPD hurry it up.

She then turned to Nikki. "What happened?"

"I came down here… I was going to see Don and Ian. They found them. They're in the hospital. I took the back way, and I found this." Nikki sniffed again. Liz was a little surprised by Nikki's uncharacteristic breakdown, but it had been a tough month on them all.

Liz frowned as Nikki's statement registered. Wait, they had found Don and Ian? "They found Ian? And Don?"

"Two Ians," Nikki nodded. "They think the one at the hospital is innocent and the one here is guilty. Don's at the hospital too."

Liz swore softly. Nikki let go of her arms, and Liz turned her attention to Colby. She could here the sirens wailing in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief until she saw a trickle of red blood flowing down Colby's leg.

## Break ##

"How is he?" Alan demanded. He was anxious. His son had been missing, held captive for a week and a half. He needed to see his son for himself. Charlie and Amita were at his side.

"He's okay, Alan," Megan responded. She looked exhausted, and Alan found himself wondering when the last time anyone besides Charlie on the team had gotten any real sleep, like on a bed. "He's still in surgery, but they expect him to make a full recovery."

"What about Ian?" Billy asked, and Alan turned. He frowned. Hadn't the team already caught the bastard who had done this to his son and to another federal agent?

"The Ian that's in the hospital is the real Ian, not the Ian in the waiting room," Megan responded. "Well we were waiting, I had Gary Walker check the other Ian's hands. He was able to tell that they had altered the finger prints. The other man also dyed his hair."

"So are you saying Ian Edgerton is innocent?" Charlie asked.

"It seems that way. He was the one who saved your brother's life," Megan responded. "It seems that someone else wanted access to the system, and Ian wouldn't give them his code information, so they took his fingerprints. That was all we got out of him before they rushed him off to surgery, too."

"Did they find out the drug that was used for Don yet?" Billy asked.

Megan shook her head. "No, but they've isolated the sample type and they're running it into the lab now. I've ordered a rush on it." She flipped open her cell phone and frowned, answering the call from Liz Warner. "Liz?"

## Break ##

Liz had quickly bandaged Colby's leg, using her jacket that she'd bought with her. It was one of her favorites, but Colby's leg was more important to her than any jacket. She hadn't been told that Colby was alive and wondered what else she'd missed out on. She felt another flare of anger at the DOJ department.

The ambulance arrived, and the EMTs quickly started their work on Colby, demanding all sorts of knowledge from Nikki and Liz, knowledge that neither one of them knew. "We're going to take him to the hospital now," the EMT said, giving Liz directions.

Liz jotted them down as well as the hospital name. She already knew the way, so the directions were unnecessary, but couldn't hurt. She frowned as she looked at the man. There was too much going on that she didn't know. "Nikki goes with Colby," she added after he was finished.

"We don't have enough room in the ambulance," the first man said with a shake of his head. "It'd be family only."

"She's his sister," Liz said, surprising even herself by the lie. Nikki glanced up at that, hoping that she really could go with Colby and wondering how on earth she was going to pretend to be Colby's sister when she didn't know any of Colby's medical information, except for his blood type. "She's also a federal agent. If she can't go, I'll arrest you for interfering with an ongoing investigation."

The EMT's eyes widened at that. "Okay. Fine, but you have to stay out of the way. We don't know how bad he's injured yet."

_That didn't sound promising, _Liz thought. When the ambulance was gone, Nikki and Colby inside, Liz picked up her cell phone and speed-dialed Megan. "You want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Liz demanded angrily.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: The suicide protocol here is followed by the Assassains in the Hardy Boys series. I hope you all enjoy the update. I had some free time today so thought I'd update. Enjoy!_

_## Break ## _

Nikki was exhausted and it showed as she slumped in the back of the ambulance. Going sixty hours or something without sleep probably had something to do with it. Nikki exhaled sharply, wondering why on earth she hadn't seen Colby wasn't alive.

_Nobody had_, she tried to comfort herself. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed hard and looked up at the sky. Why? Why was that even fair? She was so exhausted, she needed sleep. At the very least, she needed a damn cup o' Joe.

"Hand me the meter, Johnson," the EMT barked. Nikki recognized him even though she didn't know his name. She took a deep breath as she glanced at the back window of the ambulance.

"This ambulance isn't going anywhere!" 'Johnson' barked. Nikki glanced up, startled. The other EMT held up his hands.

"We have a sick patient on our hands, Johnson," the man responded, annoyed. He glanced out the front window. "We need to go to the hospital."

## Break ##

The EMT, Matthew, knew his stuff. He wasn't stupid, and he had trained in martial arts after he learned that most of his shift picked up victims from crime scenes. Being alone in the back of the ambulance at night was almost never fun. His shift had just begun, so it was still light, but it was getting closer to 5:00.

"Think about what you're doing," he responded, his hands held out calmly. He thought that the Nikki girl was an FBI chick; if that was true, perhaps he could count on her for help. She looked determined despite her exhausted appearance. "This is an FBI agent. If he doesn't go to the hospital in time because of you, you'll be facing charge for attempted murder."

_If he could get just a little closer._

_## _Break ##

"Liz Warner?" Megan glanced at her phone in surprise. Why on earth would Liz be calling her? From what Don had said, when Colby had died they had taken the least involved team member, Liz, to the DOJ and asked to investigate his death. So why was she calling Megan upset?

_"You mean you knew Colby was alive and you didn't tell me_?"

So that was what the irate call at - Megan checked her watch – seven o'clock in the afternoon was about. "We couldn't exactly get ahold of you, Liz, you were working at the DOJ."

"Damn them." The anger in Liz's voice was crystal clear. "Why the hell was Colby half-dead at the FBI?"

"What?" Megan was shocked at that. Colby hadn't been at the FBI. Nikki had. "Liz, we're still looking for him, as of when I was last there…"

"Shut up and listen, would you?" Liz Warner responded. "I came in through the back office of the FBI building, and Nikki was havin' a meltdown. There was a body, Reeves, a body in back of the FBI office. Granger's body. I checked the pulse, guess Bentacourt didn't do that, but he's alive."

"He's… what?"

"Granger's alive, and he's on his way to the hospital downtown right now. I told Nikki to ride with him, said if they didn't let her I was going to arrest them for obstruction of justice."

"That's also the hospital we're at with Don. How long ago did they leave?"

"About ten minutes. I'm on my way there now."

"I'll see you when you get here."

"Good, because you have a lot of explaining to do."

## Break ##

Nikki watched as the EMT advanced closer to the man. He grabbed the man by his neck, and knocked him down. Nikki scrambled, using that opportunity to handcuff the man. "What were you thinking, trying to hijack an ambulance with two EMT's on board?"

The other EMT - Matthew – looked out the window. "Hey, you idiot, that's the wrong way!"

Nikki gasped as the man she was holding suddenly lost consciousnecess. She felt inside the man's mouth, her heart sinking as she gaped at Matthew. "False tooth, suicide, it looks like he swallowed it."

"Damn it!" Matthew swore as he jumped over the ambulance seta. "Cover the agent's leg wound, it's bleeding. I'll have to drive to the hospital."

"Get your filthy hands off me!"

"Check his mouth, there might be a false tooth!" Nikki responded. She was surprised; suicide protocol only usually applied to members linked to international terrorist crimes. How high up were people in the Bloods?

She heard a grunt and a groan from the man in the front, and Matthew sat himself up as he turned the steering wheel. "Estimated time is about five minutes out. Keep pressure on that leg. He really needs more medical care than that but I can't do anything because I need to drive this thing."

Nikki kept applying the pressure to the leg wound. "You better hang on," she muttered to Colby Granger. "I'm not goin' through this wild ambulance ride for nothing."

The ride seemed to take forever, sirens whirling as they dashed throughout the highway. Nikki's hands tightened around Colby's leg wound, her mind focused on the man's words: _he really needs more medical attention than that, but I have to drive this thing._

Damn it, Colby, Nikki thought as she used her free hand as she ran her hand over his scars. John Sheets hadn't been lying about the cigarette scars; they masked down Colby's arm worse than anything else. "Colby, I'm sorry," she whispered.

The ambulance swerved wildly and almost knocked Nikki unconscious. "Make sure that guy gets out of the way, we're going to need to embark fast," Matthew hollered from the front. The ambulance screeched to a wild stop and Nikki barely had time to react. The towel fastened firmly to Colby's leg, she reacted as soon as the doors opened, pulling the dead man to the ground.

"WE HAVE AN AEGNT DOWN HERE!" Matthew yelled, and three EMTs came running at once. Nikki wasn't even blinked at, the first man's attention fully on Colby.

"He needs rushed into surgery. You take him, Jameston. I need to clean up this mess and make sure this guy goes to the morgue and this guy gets his ass arrested."

Jameston nodded but looked legitametly surprised. "What happened?"

"Don't ask," Matthew responded. He reached down and touched the neck of the man Nikki was holding, feeling his pulse. "He's dead. What did you mean by teeth?"

"Cyanide," Nikki explained bluntly, too tired to pull the formal FBI formalities. "When they don't want their agents to follow anything, they have them perform suicide protocol."

"Damn," Matthew muttered as he made his way towards the door. He paused as he checked the other man's palse. "He's dead, too."

"Suicide operation," Nikki muttered grimly. _Damn it, Colby, what the hell did you get yourself into?_

"Is there someone you can call?" Matthew asked. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Nikki by herself right now even though she was an FBI agent. The operation had shaken him up, and he wanted to make sure she was fine.

Nikki glanced at the hospital name – the hospital they'd taken Don too. "Do you know if a Don Eppes is residing here as patient?"

"Yeah, third floor," Matthew responded. "Why?"

"He's my boss. Can we just go there?"

"Sure," Matthew responded. "I'll lead the way."

## Break ##

Megan sighed as she hung up the phone with Liz. "They found Colby, he's en-route to the hospital now," she said as she sagged against Larry.

"How did they find him?" David asked, his face hopeful. Megan could see the tirade of emotions flashing across his face: hopeful, skeptical. "What happened?"

"Nikki was leaving the hospital to come here. I don't know the full story, but she found Colby unconscious outside the FBI office."

"Why do that?" Larry asked thoughtfully.

"To let us know they can get to him anytime, anywhere, anyplace," Megan responded with a grimace. "Nikki?" she asked as she turned around.

It was then that Nikki launched herself into Megan's arms, sobbing. "It… it… should have been me," she responded, a tear running down her cheek.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry for the slighlty shorter than usual length but I thought you all deserved an update. Notsing, you're right, Nikki usually has a very tough exterior, but I thought I'd show that she's cracked a slight bit (as the rest of the team have) over the struggles of the past month. Anyway-thanks all for your reviews, I still don't own numb3rs, and I hope you review again.

## break ##

Nikki swallowed hard as she wiped away her tears. "They hurt him, Megan, they hurt him bad."

"I know, I know," Megan responded. "What's wrong?"

"It was a suicide operation." Nikki's voice hardened. "They had sent two of their trained suicide guards to take him from the ambulance."

"Start from the beginning, when you found him. Liz filled me in some, but she was more pissed and cryptic than helpful in her explanation," Megan responded with a brief smile that she hoped was encouraging.

"I was going out the back door to the hospital to visit Don and Ian at the hospital after Gary Walker relieved me. I was suspicious, as there was a large tarp over some of our flowers. With all of the recent activity we've had, I wanted to check it out."

"Let me guess," said David, who had drifted their way. "You found something under it?"

"Colby," Nikki responded with a nod. She felt bad for breaking down, but seeing one of her best friends being attacked and then getting jumped in an ambulance that was supposed to be safe after going sixty hours without sleep was too much to handle. "I wasn't sure if he was alive or not. By the time I thought about checking his pulse, Liz was there. She checked his pulse, dialed 9-1-1, and got us the ambulance."

"Are you really Colby's half-sister?" Matthew spoke up. He wasn't going to turn Nikki in if she wasn't, but he was curious.

"Not to my knowledge. I don't know why Liz said that," Nikki responded.

"It's generally a policy that we only let people ride with family, I think she sensed something was off and wanted you to go with. In this case, she was right."

Oh, yeah, Nikki's meltdown, Megan thought. Melting down for any one of them was uncharacteristic, least of all Nikki. "What happened on the ambulance?"

"Johnson – one of the EMTs – pulled a gun on me, and said he was going to hijack the ambulance. Nikki jumped him when I realized we weren't going the fastest way to the hospital and that we were headed about ten miles out of the way."

"Johnson ended up committing suicide," Nikki responded. "I handcuffed him and he died in my arms."

"How?"

"Cyanide tooth," Nikki responded. At David's puzzled look, she responded, "What, don't you ever read the Hardy Boys series? Highly trained intelligence members are often sent with a cyanide tooth if they can't be interrogated."

"What on earth are the Bloods hiding?" David demanded. "Someone had to have dumped Colby's body there, why?"

"My guess?" Megan said with a pause. "They wanted to let us know that they could get to him anytime, anywhere, any place."

"And you foiled their plot," David mused. "Damn. But why so soon?"

"I don't know," Nikki responded with a shake of her head, "but we'd better have all agents on high guard. They may start targeted FBI attacks now, trying to find where he is."

"We need to but Ian, Don, and Colby in protective custody," David summarized.

Nikki glanced at him with raised eyebrows. "Great. I'll let you be the one to tell them that."

## Break ##

Charlie swallowed hard as he looked at his father. Don was fine and had been admitted to a private room, where Charlie and Alan were now resting. They had been told it would be another hour or so before anyone besides family could see him. "This has been the worst month and a half I think I've ever experienced."

"I know," Alan nodded. "First we discover that Colby is really alive after we all thought he was dead; then we discover that he is alive. Then Don goes missing, and David gets shot. Then, on top of that, we have this latest stunt, and they're found. Do you think this Ian is innocent?"

"He's certainly not the same Ian that was at the station," Charlie responded. "For one thing…. I just can't explain it, but I know."

Alan smirked. "I'm sure Billy wasn't too happy about the fact that he was stuffed in the trunk."

"It sounds like Ian was desperate to get away from the area. When he's awake and I'm more able to run expressions, I'm going to talk to him. It looks like they have more police officers as gurus than we originally thought."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because having someone on the police staff gives them credibility and access to a lot of important information." Charlie exhaled slowly, he really had been helping don too much.

"Hey, Charlie." David stuck his head in, sinking on the seat.

"I thought they said no one else besides family?"

"They didn't say anything else about not having any FBI officers. Listen, Alan, in about half an hour, another guard will be here for Don's door."

"Another guard?" Charlie demanded. "Why?"

"Nikki found Colby right next to the FBI back door – someone had to have put him there – and she was worried that they'd strike again," David responded, giving out the least possible information.

Alan picked up on that. "What are you hiding, David?"

David exhaled. "The men who came to recapture Colby in the ambulance had a cyanide tooth; both died. We think the Bloods are hiding something big and we're not sure what. At any rate, we don't want Don to be at risk again – or etiher of you – so the guard stays."

"When can we see Colby?"

"I'll let you know. Chances are it will be only family until morning," David responded. He took that opportunity to leave the room.

Charlie glanced at Alan. "But Colby doesn't have any family," he responded.

"Yes, he does, son," Alan responded with a tired sigh. "Just not by blood."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I decided to make up for the shorter chapter with a longer one. If anyone guesses how the ending situation will play out, I'll update before Friday at noon. If not, I'll update during the afternoon on Friday. Good luck!

## Break ##

It was about six hours later, around midnight, when David Sinclair wearily approached Don's hospital room. Colby had been rushed to surgery upon his arrival. David was worried – even though he'd seen Colby for ten, maybe eleven seconds, Colby hadn't shown any recognition of him. Whether that was because of the drugs that were no doubt in his system, because of his time during the Bloods, or because of something else – David really had no clue.

The surgeons had no idea what had happened, but they had said Colby hadn't said anything. He'd kept going from unconscious to conscious. David and Megan had spent the afternoon trying to piece together anything they could from Ian.

Don was still unconscious, and Colby was in surgery. Ian was their only clue about what happened during Don and Colby's time of captivity, and he didn't know much. He'd been separated from Colby virtually the entire time except for the last few days – mostly because the Bloods had wanted Colby to believe that Ian was holding Colby captive.

What Ian had said had made David wince. Colby had really been through a lot in his month during captivity. So had Ian. David suspected that they would both need counseling even if neither one would admit it.

_Flashback_

_"They told me that Don was beaten," Ian responded as he laid against the bed. It seemed unusual to see the hyperactive FBI agent lying there, still. "They told me that Colby had screwed up by attempting to escape and Don was getting punished as a result. The guy who looked like me – my twin – made Don count while he was being beaten. Anytime he skipped, they'd add five lashes to Colby's. He didn't miss, but they added ten to Colby's anyway." _

_"Did they tell you anything else?" David knew they wouldn't get much out of Ian after this. He needed to rest. Nikki was going to be his body guard. She'd been working longer hours than him or Megan and hadn't been resting. She needed some sleep. _

_Hell, so did he._

_Ian thought through the information he'd known. It was clear that they had and that he was trying to pick out the most vital information to tell David. "They said that they owned us," he said finally._

_"Owned you how?" _

_"That we were going to be their captives forever. I never believed it, and I know Colby didn't either, or Don for that matter, but… I'm not going to lie to you, David. They shot a Bloods member who was in a policeman's uniform because Colby talked to him. They wanted to make sure Colby knew he could never talk to anyone." _

_"You think that Colby won't talk when he wakes up?" _

_"I don't know. But if I were in his shoes," Ian admitted sheepishly, "I know even I'd be afraid too." _

- End Flash -

## Break ##

"What happened?" Alan demanded. David and Megan were starting to put together what had happened during Don's time in captivity. Thanks to Ian – the only one of the three captives who was conscious enough to talk – they knew more than they wanted too.

Well, he reconciled, David and Megan probably didn't know enough. But he knew more than he wanted to. He felt sick to his stomach. But it was his _son_. He was not giving up information that he needed to know about his _son_. It had happened to his son; his son had physically survived it, and that meant that he could hear about it.

And maybe Alan was only lying to himself.

"We believe that he was branded by the Bloods," David explained. Don had not woken up since he'd entered the hospital, and that scared Alan. Part of that was because Don had been unconscious for the first twelve hours for surgery. Alan was sure the other part of it was pain. _And probably whatever his damn captors had drugged him with, too, _he thought bitterly. "You can see here the yellow mark on his arm. Ian and Colby also have one. It's a mark to show that he's a captive by the Bloods. Or – he was," David quickly corrected himself.

Alan swallowed. "What was it caused by?"

David looked like he really didn't want to give out the information. "Ian said they branded him with a fire poker."

Even Charlie had the grace to look pale with that comment. He swallowed hard. "What else do we know, David?" he asked, in a very quiet and not Charlie like voice.

"We know he was beaten multiple times. He has a lot of lacerations on his back. Ian said that when Colby was awake, Colby mentioned that Don had been beaten with a belt because of their escape attempt. We're still trying to pierce everything together. Ian is exhausted, even though he doesn't want to admit it. He's staying overnight at the hospital, too."

"How'd you get him to agree to that one?" Charlie asked with the raise of his eyebrow.

"Doctor's orders," David said. Alan thought that he heard a touch of sarcasm in his son's co-worker's voice, but couldn't be sure. "Anyway, if Don wakes up, please let us know. Colby woke up right before they rushed him off to surgery. We just found that out about fifteen minutes ago. Either he's not talking, or he can't."

Charlie just nodded. "But Ian is talking, right?"

"Yeah. Listen, I just came by to say that if Don's talking when he wakes up, we need to know about it. Nikki told Megan – never mind, you don't need to know that, but suffice to say that Megan thinks the Bloods may try and kidnap Colby again. If Don and Ian are in the same hospital, they may try and kill three birds with one stone, so to speak."

Charlie visibly winced at that.

"I'm not saying the Bloods _will _attack," David responded, "but I am saying that you do need to be prepared for the event that it might happen. The hospital has a section on the twelfth floor that is very isolated and used strictly for this purpose – protection. We're going to be moving Don up there when Colby is done with his surgery. We'll also be adding FBI agents and LAPD officers coming by constantly. I do want you to be aware that Ian thinks some of the Bloods are policemen or have access to police uniforms, though, so always ask for ID and be careful. I've limited the questioning of Don and Colby to Megan, myself, Nikki, Billy Cooper, and Gary Walker," David said. "That way they can't try and use that against you."

"Thanks," Charlie responded.

"You're welcome." David paused, sensing that something else was needed. "Charlie, your brother's a fighter. He'll make it out okay."

"Thanks," Charlie responded again as David darted from the room upon seeing Gary Walker.

Alan sank back against his chair, all his energy seemingly drained. He really didn't want to know anything else that had happened to his son, but he needed to know what had happened so that he could help Don recover. Colby was going to have the toughest battle, Alan thought, with no family nearby. They'd have to change that. Colby could stay with Alan while he was recuperating. He knew that David had taken care of Colby's things and discontinuing Colby's lease, so the man would no doubt need a place to stay. He could fill that need. Ian probably would need one too. Another guest room spoken for.

He was too busy lost in thoughts to notice the slightly older brown-haired woman approaching David Sinclair, who had been talking to Megan about some development in the case.

"Where's Colby Granger?" the woman cried. She looked to be about mid-fifties and clutched her purse all too tightly. "I was told that he was here. Where is he?"

"Miss, I'm afraid that information is classified," Alan heard David say even as Alan made his way towards the door.

"Fuck the classified information," the woman screeched, hitting David with her purse. "I'm his mother, damn it, and I want to see him _now_!"

Alan turned to look at Charlie, who was no longer working on his math equations. Colby's mother had disowned him when he'd signed up for the military, and again at his funeral. How did she even get the information he was here? More importantly, why did she care?

"I'm sorry, I cannot give out that information," David repeated. Alan admired how he was able to keep his cool – Alan just wanted to strangle the woman. How _dare_ she pretend to finally care about Colby? What good could possibly result because of this?

Charlie slipped out the door, ready to go alert the nurses to the situation, and a hand snaked around his neck. "Either you go and get me the damn information, or I'll slit this kid's throat!"

It was all Alan could do to force himself to breathe as he saw the knife move closer to Charlie's Adam's apple.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Well, thanks for being patient! Sorry about the brief delay. Chances are slim I will be able to update until after Tuesday afternoon. I have a paper due that's at least five pages, a group presentation that is fifteen minutes on Monday, and a midterm/exam on top of all of that sometime on Tuesday/Monday for an online class. Free time? What free time? After I finish the exam, though, i'll update, I promise. Anyway, enjoy. I leave you with this for the weekend.

"I want to see Colby, and I want to see him now!" The woman's hands were visibly shaking from holding Charlie up. Alan swallowed, sure he was about to see his son knocked unconscious or killed. Or tortured.

"Okay, we'll work with your request, but for right now you need to let him go." David hadn't drawn his gun yet, his hands up in the air. Megan, however, had her gun, and Alan had a feeling she was just waiting for a shot.

_What the hell had Colby's childhood been like_? It was another question that Alan didn't want to know the answer too. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

"I'm not letting him go until you tell me where my son is!"

Alan had had enough. It was clear that the woman was there for some reason other than Colby, what Alan couldn't imagine. He wasn't about to let this woman hurt his other son when one of them was already lying unconscious. "That's _my_ son!" He responded, stepping in front of David, well aware of the tense feeling in the air and Megan's gun that was probably pointed at his back.

There was a reason Alan was never fond of the FBI.

The woman stopped. Charlie swallowed hard, visibly, and Alan winced. The knife was so close. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm 'that kid's' father," he responded. He lowered his voice to a dangerous tone, the one that would still work with Don even after all of his FBI training. "And I'm more of a father to Colby than you have been a mother."

The woman backed up a few steps, and Alan could see Charlie's face flush. "I took good care of my child."

"That's why you disowned him when he was in the military, right?" David saw where Alan was going with this. Colby was clearly the reason why the woman had gone to the hospital; she looked exactly like Colby's mother had when he'd gone to meet her after Colby's death. Well, from what he could remember of her before they threw him out. "That's why you didn't come to his funeral?"

"I couldn't bear to see his funeral when he was alive!" the woman responded. She let go of Charlie, who toppled to the floor. Her purse was dropped to the floor. Alan rushed towards his son, and David rushed to take the woman. Alan helped Charlie up before he noticed the woman's knife. She dug through her purse and all but threw the picture at David. "_That's bloody well why I would_n't go to his funeral!"

David took the picture in his hands. It was Colby, bound in a chair, clearly captive, a knife to his throat, and the words _you're dead_ written on the back of the picture.

## Break ##

It was an hour later and Alan and Charlie had agreed to attempt to take a nap while David interrogated Colby's mother. The woman had been irate; refusing to go down to the station, but David had handcuffed her and taken the woman. She had held an FBI agent hostage after all – never mind that he was just a federal consultant.

"Tell me about the picture," David tried finally. After half an hour of questioning, all he'd gotten was that she was actually Colby's birth mother and that her name was Sabrina Granger.

"The picture's why I wouldn't go to the funeral." She swallowed hard. "It said he was dead."

"And we came and told you he was dead," David said, remembering her throwing them out. "So why didn't you tell us then?"

"How was I supposed to know who you were?"

"We told you we were on Colby's team."

"Fat lot of good you did for him."

David winced at that comment. "Tell me what you know about the events in the recent months."

The woman sighed, and then opened her purse. David had wanted to confiscate it, but had already checked it for weapons and suspected that she had a few more items that could link to Colby's disappearance. He would confiscate it after that. "Colby never really took me seriously," she said, laying a few pieces of papers down on the desk.

"He never really took you seriously about what?"

"He never really took me seriously about me kicking him out. Oh, sure, he left." She rolled her eyes. "But he still stayed in school. I didn't want him gone," she said with a sigh. "I just wanted him away from my husband. He was a bad influence on Colby – he kept beating the kid."

David bit his tongue to keep from asking why this was relevant and why she simply hadn't divorced him. "What happened next?"

"Colby spent the next few months homeless, sleeping on the train, in the bus stations, whatever," she responded with a strange lack of emotion. "But he always sent me these post cards once a week." She pointed to the purple ones. David picked one up. All it said was the words _I'm alive_ in Colby's sloppy handwriting. "He kept sending me these post cards. He did it once a week then, once a month when he was in the military."

David kept quiet, sensing there was more to the picture.

"Colby's father died when he was fifteen. The man I remarried – the man he thinks I kicked him out over – well, he was – is – abusive. But even after you held the funeral," the woman responded, "I kept getting these." She pressed two more down. "In his exact handwriting."

David frowned. That didn't make sense. Why alert someone to the fact that Colby was alive, and more importantly, why hadn't she told them? "Keep going," he said.

"I think that one of your federal agents," she responded, "Is Colby's father." She swallowed visibly hard. "Well, his adoptive father anyway. I also think he's a member of the Bloods."

"What's his name?" David asked, his pen pacing restlessly on the paper.

"His name is John Sheets."


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: I apologize for the long delay. There's no excuse; sometimes we just need a break from certain categories and specific works before we can come back to them. Now you have it, the ending of Missing, Presumed Dead. _

_Thanks to all who have stuck with me this far and "taken me home." _

_Writer With Sprite _

_## break ## _

David was nonplussed by the news that Colby's father was John Sheets. Quite frankly, it scared him. If Colby's father was the one they were after, things just weren't good. At least, David thought, they'd managed to find Colby and Don – and now Ian, too. That was _something_.

Ian was no doubt their best lead on the case so far. David had hoped that the nightmare would be over when Don and Colby were rescued, but the nightmare was still continuing. They'd had to lock Colby's mother up because she'd threatened to kill several law enforcement officers (actually, she'd threatened to bomb both the hospital Colby was at and the FBI office building, but who was counting?), and she'd attacked one of the law enforcement officers. Her credibility wasn't strong, but still, David _owed_ it to Colby to check out this lead.

He was running Colby's DNA against John's now. "John Sheets" was actually an alias for Joseph Diego, a known criminal. He couldn't believe he'd let _Joseph Diego _slip through his fingers. David felt guilty – but there was nothing he could do except for preform the slip now.

David just wanted Colby to wake up. He wanted Colby to be okay; to tell him that he had forgiven David for not looking for him harder. There had always been something that had told David that Colby wasn't dead; and David knew his partner wouldn't want him to morn for him. Still, there was an uncomfortable feeling that had settled in David's gut, and he would feel _much_ better when Colby was awake.

Megan ducked into the room, car keys in her hand. "Hey," she said with a tired sigh.

Instantly alert, David said, "What's up?" He knew how tired Megan looked and knew he probably looked the same.

"The case has been assigned to Turner's team," Megan said, mentioning the name of the second SAS in charge. "We'll be allowed to help, but right now Merrick has given us paid some time off and wants us to be there to help Don and Colby."

David's face brightened. Although he hated the feeling of giving up the case, he wanted to be able to help his friends. And, to be honest, get some sleep.

"Come on," Megan said, gently tugging on his arm. "Let's go to the hospital. Colby woke up, and he's asking for you."

Nervousness churned in David's stomach as they exited the room. He was about to see his friend for the first time in a very, very long time.

"Oh," Megan added, "we've arrested Sheets."

Well. Good news times two.

## break ##

David entered the hospital, looking at Colby through the hospital bed. He felt sick to his stomach. If only he'd have known Colby was still alive; that would have spared both him and Don – and even David – so much pain. David would have moved heaven and earth to get his partner back.

He sighed and entered the room. Colby was sitting slightly up, but he looked awful. Blood was still matted certain places on his arms, and he looked absolutely exhausted, even though he'd been sleeping for three days. "Hey," he said in a soft voice.

"Hey," David said back. "It's so good to see you alive," he said, hastily. "I'm sorry, Colby… I should have done something… anything…"

"David," Colby said, stopping David in his tracks, "You didn't know. I know you're not a superhero. Guess what? I'm not either," he said. "I know you moved heaven and earth to get me back once I was alive. Hell, you got shot because you tried to protect me," he added. "Thanks for bringing me home."

No other words needed to be said.

## Epilogue ##

The case had been tied up with help from Colby's statement and Don's statement. The Bloods had been crippled and humbled; with their leader and dozens of other members taken out. The leader was tried and sentenced to a death penalty, and Ian's lookalike had eventually been found dead, killed by the Bloods.

Don shuddered, thinking of one fact and one fact only – that could have been Ian; or him; or anyone from their team. And thank their lucky stars that there were no FBI fatalities on the raid. Only two broken arms and a bruised shoulder.

Megan and Nikki were both working on the Numb3rs team full-time, and Ian had surprisingly settled down and joined their team. The Violent Crimes Squad now had Colby, Don, Megan, Ian, Nikki, and David as members; they'd made quite an interesting team. Liz had eventually transferred to a high position in Washington DC. Billy was still fugitive recovery, but more often than not made it a point to deck in and

Colby had a month of physical therapy to go to before he was allowed back on active duty. He had all but begged to go back on desk duty. Don had snickered when Merrick had talked to him about it. "He's pretty insistent; says he needs something to do," Merrick said. Don hadn't taken long to give in.

Today, they were at a barbecue at his father's house, celebrating the one-month reunion. Colby was officially reinstated as an FBI agent, and he was back to active duty. The barbecue was in full-swing as Don walked over to Colby, who was sitting down. "What's up?" he asked, taking a swig of his beer, relishing in what he hadn't been allowed to have during his own time of recovery. Alan hadn't wanted him to mix beer and pain meds.

"The sky, the open, vast, sky," Colby teased. His return had brought many good things. Colby was still excellent at his job, but he was much more lighthearted, and seemed to fit in with the team better.

"Yeah, yeah," Don said. "Ready to go back to active duty tomorrow?"

"Hell yes," Colby responded enthusiastically, "anything is better than desk duty."

"Even getting shot at?" Don asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Close call, but I'll take the risk of getting shot at any day," Colby quipped. "Hey, Don?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

## - end - ##

Thanks to all who have stuck with me this far and reviewed. Please feel free to leave feedback.

**FINIS**


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